Blogjam vs. Block

Everyone’s familiar with “writer’s block,” the point where a writer working on a specific project either can’t start or can’t finish. (The movie Stranger Than Fiction not only gives a great portrayal of the problem, but some wonderful spiritual analogies and philosophical questions as well.)

Bloggers—at least those of us who share our lives and insights rather than links to news releases and such, have a different problem: it’s not a block, but a logjam. Blogjam. There’s not a scarcity of stuff to write about, but everything touches on the theme of your blog, and choosing what part of everything to present is the challenge.

Here’s an example of the challenge as I’m experiencing it:

  • I came back from a mini-vacation to spend Thanksgiving with my parents, whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. Blog material there? Not really.
  • I’m still processing the ongoing ideas that Mark and his sensei have been sharing this month at Eternal Awareness. Blog material there? You betcha. But I’ve little to add because Mark says it all so well.
  • I watched West Side Story last night for the first time in ages. It made me cry as it always does. I thought about just putting up a post asking you to share what movies make you cry. Seemed kind of flimsy, though, like my last real post this month on studying Spanish!
  • And then there’s just this thought that’s been in my head today. It’s from an observation that Fr. Matthew Fox made in The Coming of the Cosmic Christ. that the Greek god Chronos ate his children, but Christ gave himself to his children to eat. I’d thought I’d give some nice, deep, philosophical observation on the destructive and constructive principles, time vs. eternity, or some similar bullshit. But I’d feel that it’s bullshit, so I wouldn’t. Except that I just did. Oh, well.

So that’s my blogjam. In fact, I’ve got four drafts ready to go on different subjects that I thought I’d use when I didn’t know what else to post, but none of them feel appropriate to the day either.

So take your pick, comment on whatever you like–blogjams, movies that make you cry, metaphysical principles, what’s going on in your lives.

11 thoughts on “Blogjam vs. Block

  1. Sounds like a tough choice, but if you put them all together it would come out like “A Prairie Home Companion!”
    Seriously though, I’ll bet Matthew Fox’s book ought to be good for a whole series of blog posts.

    Peace

    Mark

  2. Good to see you back, Jon. Thanks for the plug, and I have a confession to make: that recent post called “Lessons on Giving Back to the Source” took me about two weeks of having an idle blog to finally write and get it posted. Had to go deep on that one, and it’s not over yet.

    Movies that make me cry? Well, usually anything to do with sacrificing a life, standing up to death in whatever form, or reuniting with someone – gets me every time. Some current tear-jerking faves include:

    * The Seven Samurai
    * Whale Rider
    * House of Flying Daggers
    * Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
    * Passion of the Christ
    * 50 First Dates
    * Narnia
    * V for Vendetta

  3. I LOVED “A Prairie Home Companion!” 😀

    Your mentioning Matt Fox has made me realize that I don’t have any of his works on my recommended reading list on my blog. Gonna rectify that.

    Movies that make me cry? “Contact” when Oodie Foster’s character first comes out of the wormhole, sees the birth of a new galaxy and says “No words. They should have sent a poet.”

  4. Jon, you’ve managed to write a truly interesting blogpost about not being able to come up with interesting blogposts. How zenlike. Or maybe I should say frimmin.

    I cried while watching “Contact” too. Two old favorites that always make me cry, even though I’ve seen them a dozen times: “Priest” and “Ordinary People.”

  5. I don’t seem to cry much in movies, but ‘V for Vendetta’ almost gets me too. The one I really remember though is that ‘Big Fish’ movie.

    This is a nice sort of blog post. Like Darrell said… I like it.

  6. Yeah, you guys definitely brought up some other ones that do it to me. “Ordinary People” probably most of all. I really related to the character of Conrad when that movie came out. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Passion of the Christ,” and “Whale Rider,” definitely.

    And because it affected two of you so much, I know now that I have to see “V for Vendetta.”

  7. I can’t believe I wrote “Oodie Foster.”

    I’m a sucker for Forrest Gump. And Phenomenon. And City of Angels. I cry everytime, but I’m a wuss.

  8. I thought I wrote a lengthy comment about wanting to know what’s going on in everybody’s life, because it’s been a bit quiet in the blogosphere. Guess not… anyway, so, life is good, and I’ve been cooking a lot and having an audience 😀

  9. YES to Jodie Foster in Contact. Maybe we should all find a way to run a movie on the net, so that we can all join in and sit around with popcorn, kleenex and IM headsets & mics! 🙂

  10. Jon, I am a neighbor from west Virginia. I just found you site through a friends blog. I have been reading some of your stuff and I so relate to what is coming out of your heart.

    I have linked to a couple of your articles on my blog. I look forward to getting to know you better.

    Steve

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