The Soul Reason For Blogging

How times change.

When I started this blogging business, my family and friends were this close to ordering me to go to therapy, to sort out my "problem". They asked me why I felt the need to share my innermost thoughts with strangers from around the world. They reasoned that it was understandable to "let it out all" by writing a diary, but why, oh why, would I ever want to share my emotions with the virtual universe, that we now call Cyberspace). The blank looks on their faces were something to behold.

I patiently explained that this was the way forward and that blogging would become the NBT (Next Big Thing). This was back in 2004 and I don't think that even I could have imagined how successfully it would have taken off.

Four years on and my "meshugas" (madness) is viewed as being much less of a worry than it used to be. Look at the Net. These days, you can reads blogs from anyone. Politicians, Rabbis, Doctors, journalists - you name it - post regular blogs and believe me, mine aren't anything as weird as many of those on the web.

This all brings me to the point of this post.

My friend Jonathan, whom I have known since we were children and whom I reconnected with a few years ago, has taken the plunge and joined the blogging club.

Nothing special there you might add.
Well, not quite.

Jonathan has started a blog because he is in the terrible position of waiting for the results of a biopsy, which may or may not determine whether he has liver cancer - let's pray that the results are negative.

Back to the blog.

Jonathan has managed to take a terrible situation and come up with the inspired moniker of "Jonathan's Chopped Liver", a title which whilst being wildly funny, also shows a human being with an amazing level of personal courage - I really cannot vocalise the level of admiration I feel for him right now.

Jonathan's need to share his thoughts really justifies the reason why we blog. Each of us shares the part of our soul that we hope will have an impact on at least one another inhabitant of the planet - and to me, that's reason enough to keep a blog and diarise my life for all and sundry to read.

If adding posts will help Jonathan wake up in the morning and look out of that window for his sunny day, then the concept of blogging has completely justified it's existence. Similarly, if I feel a weight off my chest when I've written a piece of prose, be it in the form of a political ranting or a moan at the crappy day I've had in school or even a joke that I want to share to make other people smile, then maybe at the end of the day, we bloggers are the only ones around who don't need therapy.

The tag line (from a Tracy Chapman song) at the top of this website reads "all that you have is your soul". In the case of my friend Jonathan, never was a truer word spoken/sung/hummed or yes, even cried.

Not every blog post is a piece of my soul, but every now and again, I feel a powerful inner twinge when I press the "Publish Post" button and make myself as vulnerable as I could ever be to you, the person who is reading this right now.

I send my best wishes of a speedy recovery to Jonathan and welcome him to the most soulful and special little club in the crazy world we call Cyberspace.

Please visit his website at http://jonathanshoham.spaces.live.com and tell him The Scribbler says "Hi."