Yesterday a friend told me, after I had read one of my blog posts out loud for her, that she thought I should periodically do a video blog, in which I would perform choice selections from these blog posts. I was flattered that she had such faith in my performative abilities, but that’s about as far as it went.
But it seems she had planted a seed in my head. In the midst of teaching a class early this evening, I suddenly realized that over a year ago I had written a blog post on the very topic under discussion. I pulled out my notebook computer and read that blog entry aloud to the class. The students in the class seemed to accept this act as a natural part of the class. And a bit to my surprise, it all felt perfectly natural to me as well.
Until today I had been keeping this blog separate from other things in my life, such as teaching. But this evening I realized that this is an unnecessary separation. After all, the words I write are part of me, just as my right arm is a part of me. There is no reason not to refer back to these words, weaving their power into the narrative of my life as it is lived. They are, after all, my words. Having these blog posts to draw upon is like having hundreds of extra right arms in reserve, at my command. I may not need them most of the time, but they sure are good to have around.
Well then, perhaps I should do that video blog after all…