Is blogging healthy?

Is blogging really a good thing to be doing? A bizarre little thought crossed my mind as I was going about my day today.

"Blogging is almost like talking to your imaginary friend"

Or rather, MY blogging is almost like talking to an imaginary friend. You write and you write, but to who? Who are you writing to? Is it supposed to be for anyone in particular to read? And when I say 'you', I really mean 'me'. I do nothing to promote this blog to people I know. Quite the opposite really. I go through great pains to make sure no one ever comes near this little space of mine! And so I keep this intimate little space online.. whispering all sorts of secrets to my little blog, like a little boy playing with his own imaginary friend at the corner of the play ground, away from the rest of the boys. Its my little secret... and its my little space.... no one's supposed to know or read the secrets I divulge. YET.. at the same time, I get excited every time someone leaves a comment. Again, I'm full of contradictions.

There are times I wonder to myself why I enjoy sitting alone in Starbucks or at home being lost in my own world minuting down all the itsy bitsy details of my life. But there is a strange allure to it... and from the number of people out there blogging their hearts out, I must not be alone in this addiction too. Maybe its a two fold reason.

We all have this infinite desire to share our lives with people. No man is an island... and as I read somewhere, we are all wired for connection. It's in our veins to want to connect with another human being. We put our lives up for display via our blogs, because we want others to come, peer in, be interested in us, and engage us in human interaction. We have this craving to be part of something bigger than ourselves; part of a community. By having a blog, and with steady stream of readers, we are reminded that we exist not only as ourselves, but also as part of this larger group. In many ways, I think making this sort of connections, via blogs, emails, phone calls, facebook, twitter and what have you all really serve the same underlying thing. These connections truly make us feel alive.

To a lesser extent, I think blogging also sort of fulfills the inner of some of us to become writers. Gone are the days when the only way for you to get people to read your writings were to have them published in the newspaper or journals. With blogging, EVERYONES a writer. The good, the bad and the ugly, all in. Anyone with an internet connection and a web browser can start a website of his own. Heck, look at me; When I started, I didn't have a clue about html editing, web page design or how to start your own blog... and look at me today.....I...wait a minute.....I STILL don't have a clue!.... but then look at how easy it has become so easy for everyone! Even your grandmother could write a blog these days. Not everyone is that should write does write, and many who shouldn't really write at all write all the time though. But who am I to judge them.

So back to this idea of this blog as an imaginary friend. The more I write, the more I feel it is true to some extent; like an invisible confidant that I go to everytime I need to get something off my chest. Maybe if I were a bit more normal, my first port of call would be the my phone, calling someone sharing my thoughts, fears and dreams.. But here's the funny thing that happens instead. I blog FIRST... and write it all out... AFTER THAT, when I find myself in conversation with friends and family again, I suddenly find myself echoing the words that I had typed out earlier in my blog. I am actually repeating the things I write instead of later writing out things I said. Not that any of them know it of course.

Anyways, that's all for now.