Kristendom

That is the question. Occasionally, things happen in my life, whether to me or someone I love, and I so very much want to post about them. They are funny or sad, they enrage me or make me cry, they are a good story. But as a general rule, when it comes to posting about others, I just don’t.

It just doesn’t seem fair to me that the only side people would get to read is mine. This is partially why I’ve stopped writing about Aedan – until he gets his own blog, that is. And this is why I don’t write about Sean much, either.

The other reason is that I feel like the conversations I have with Sean are mainly just for us. I would never vent about him on here – that wouldn’t be fair to him. This is not a means of communication for us. Even the funny stories I share on here are generally modified somewhat, just to make sure he’s comfortable with whatever I post. My blog is many things, but it is never meant to be a way to air my frustrations, should I have any.

That is why it is so foreign to me when I see others use their blogs or social media to do so. Maybe this is just my own belief, but I sincerely try to live by the rule of “do no harm” when it comes to sharing online. I even have a hard time calling out companies for bad service because I know that one bad experience does not mean a company completely sucks.

I’ve always found this quote from Anne Lamott to be interesting:

Remember that you own what happened to you. If your childhood was less than ideal, you may have been raised thinking that if you told the truth about what really went on in your family, a long bony white finger would emerge from a cloud and point to you, while a chilling voice thundered, “We *told* you not to tell.” But that was then. Just put down on paper everything you can remember now about your parents and siblings and relatives and neighbors, and we will deal with libel later on.

Because while it may be true, I just can’t quite live with the fact that I am the only owner of what happened to me. There are other people who own part of that story, too, and they may not have the voice to be able to share it. So until I get comfortable with that idea (if I ever do), I think I’ll live by my own rule of do no harm. It’s served me well thus far.

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