I’ve resisted this blog, and before that I resisted my website. It’s not that I am against technology. Rather, I shy from self-promotion. I think it’s in bad taste to toot your own horn. I like a soft piano, in a dim room. I’m not crazy about parades.
But I understand the need for presence, for promotion. Ironically, much of my work is in publicity and promotion. I promote companies and ideas. I shout from the rooftops, and write loud and clear to give voice to small business, big business, to the haves and have-nots. And yet, and yet, when it comes to promoting — or even revealing — my own efforts and achievements, I am uncomfortable offering more than a restrained hooray among a few friends.
The irony, again, is that each week I urge teens in the Young Writers Group to take pride in their work. “Own it,” I tell them. “Read it loud and proud!”
And so, I am taking my own medicine. Despite my initial resistance, I have come to this: A blog doesn’t have to be all about me. For now, it can be quiet place to share a few notes.
And so, let’s go. Not with the thunder of the self-absorbed, but in the same careful way a single line, when spoken softly, carries great weight.