Why Medium?
I have had a lot of personal blogs throughout my life, starting on sites like LiveJournal before moving on to WordPress and various other forms. I think I realized along the way that I don’t necessarily see the point in re-inventing the wheel. To be blunt, I don’t think that there is anything special I have to say that is going to be worth others searching out to just find my own specific blog. I feel Medium is a good place because it crosses the boundary between blog and social media. You have your dedicated “page” but there is also a feed to be a part of. I think that it isn’t always so important to worry about what you as an individual have to say as much as it is to have the community aspect of a dialog. Nobody likes to be monologued at. That gets boring. It leads to individuals putting more value in their own messaging than in communication.
I have always loved nature and often feel most at peace when I am in quiet solitude outdoors. I like many people got very into birds while sitting outside. I had multiple bird feeders. I saw a lot of birds, but what I saw most was squirrels. Squirrels have a bad rap when it comes to bird feeders. They’re seen as a nuissance. I never understood it. They just want to survive and do their thing. So I moved from just feeding the birds to feeding the squirrels as well. The one pictured is the one that made me fall in love with the species. I love to see their curiosity and ingenuity. They remind me of some of the most important people I have met. They may not be beloved like the birds, but they’re doing their thing. There is something beautiful about watching them live their lives, just like the birds, just like people. Squirrels are for the most part solitary but they still live in the presence of others like them. I remember seeing the ways they would fight over the food I would throw out to them, until they realized there was more than enough. I throw out a single pecan to a group, they all charge it. But if instead I throw out a handful, they all get their own. No one is any more important than any other. That’s what my thought on a blog really is, I suppose. Same with any aspect of individuality versus community. If we put all of our focus on one thing, we are going to miss out on a lot. If I followed with the other budding bird watchers and came up with elaborate baffles to keep the squirrels away, I would only be cheating myself. My ignorance and assumptions would have meant I missed out on something that I have truly come to deeply love.
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Squirrels are interesting. My connection to them over the years has taught me a lot of lessons that I am still integrating into my life. They don’t hoard a pile of nuts when there is enough to go around. In fact, when there is an ample supply, they end up burying so many that new trees grow in the places they forgot about, leading to an even greater supply in the future. It’s the same with sharing thoughts and ideas with a community. We plant our own seeds without even realizing it and make the entire group better off in the long run.
