The First

Well,  here I am writing my first blog... EVER. I am sure that is the way most start out, letting everyone know that this is the first. Why do we blog, facebook, myspace, skype, ichat, IM, text, etc and spend so much of our time online? Instant and social  gratification are the answers I most often conclude.  We live in a world where if you are not online, you are not connected... to anything.  I disagree with this thought though, and am grateful that I have mountains and the open desert close by so that I may escape and relieve myself from the constant virtual reality.  I am a very social and outgoing person, hence my blog, multiple email accounts, Facebook page and cell phone, but I love getting away from the stress of technological advances that I feel sometimes plague my life. Most of my school work consists of online journal articles, professor and colleague posts to the university websites, and a variety of online homework pages.  Paperless and convenient.  The progression of this technology is phenomenal and is getting better and more sophisticated with each passing day.  But as humans we are not.  We are becoming lazier and more demanding with our expectations.   I feel that most people today are living similarly exhausting lives to people thirty, twenty, maybe even just ten years ago; the differences I see now, however involve higher expectations for greater performance but in less time.  Time... something I feel I have none of, yet I feel the need to blog.  Strange how that works.  But it is good release for me I feel and I think one of the best things people can do for their lives is to take time for themselves and reflect on their life.  I have found writing in a journal has been one of my favorite things to do, because I get to see my own free flowing thoughts on paper.  I like this because they are thoughts that are not read to be receive a grade, they are not criticized by others for my point of view, and they are my own words.  I love to write, to read, to talk, to listen, and to learn.  These social networks of instant messages, wall posts, blogs and whatever others that one might use are healthy and fun!  Just as long as not all of my free time is taken up with all of them. My advice... take time for yourself outside of the online world. Take a walk with the dog or that special someone, paint a picture of your house plant or favorite mug, sit outside and breathe in the fresh air for a few minutes (unless it is inversion central in Salt Lake... YUCK!), take the day off and make some beautiful track lines in some fresh snow.  There are so many things we can do to take time for ourselves all throughout the year that let us refuel and reflect on who were are as people.  Be social, be involved, be motivated, be knowledgeable, be adventurous, be life loving, and last but not least be yourself.

I have found joy in reading about the lives of the people I care about and feel that I would like to let them know about myself in return.  I love comments on my work (posts, adventures, job, artwork, etc...) so please let me know what is on your mind!!  I hope this first blog will lead to many more and I hope I can see and catch up with the people who will read this as often as we can!  But for the in between times we do not get to, there are blogs for that.  I love you all.