Thursday, July 10, 2008

Bein' Country


Today I decided to share some thoughts I have been having on the subject of bein' country. Since "discovering" blogs, I have been wandering around the "blogosphere" and reading so many wonderful blogs. And, if you read one, then you connect to more and more. It grows exponentially!

So.. I find myself learning through other blogs. I like the daily glimpses into others lives; their style of living, their creativity, their families and their philosophies.

Now I have been mulling this over for a few days; whether or not to share these thoughts. Since it is my blog I reckon I will.

Here's how it began: I was wandering; see above: I found a delightful blog that I read through and the author advised she was now a country gal like me. The part that bothered me I guess is that after reading through so many wonderful posts, I discovered one that made me think about my blog, my readers ( all two of you LOL ) and what bein' country is all about for me. And this is my opinion.

Bein' country is NOT about where you live; it is a mindset. I have lived in many types of places; but I always knew I was country. I clean up good to go to town and can speak ( and write ) proper English ( when I have to LOL). But I have The South in me real good! My Daddy always said don't act ugly, and I sure try not to. I write my blog primarily for me; I'm sure most do, and I hope others visit and enjoy themselves. There is a spirit of generosity in all the bloggers I have so far encountered; they all seem to want to share their lives and their knowledge with others.

Their creativity! What a treasure. WOO! These women that I visit are so creative and talented. This blogging thing gives many of us a real voice that might otherwise go unheard. I have "met" so many nice women on these blogs. I have learned so much, I have been inspired and have felt uplifted by so many of you. That is why I guess I felt the need to share this with you and maybe that other blogger will learn a little bit too.

She said she didn't like blogs with music; my answer ( after I thought about it ) is that I have a little ole' button on my laptop that instantly shuts off the speakers. Voila! No music; takes less than half a second. My take on the music is this; I have been able to listen to such a wide variety of music on your blogs; I love to share in what you listen to; it helps me get a feel for your personality and I have found new music that I may never have found any other way. So play that music; I love it. If you don't have music on your blog, that's okay too; it's your blog! I'll still read it anyway.

Point two; she said something in regard to spelling and proper English; I'm not an English teacher; I read your blogs for inspiration. Ihave been a fussbudget about spelling at times because I feel it is quickly becoming a lost art ( okay,watch Headline News; the ticker is always misspelling things; they are PROFESSIONALS for goodness sake! ) Our local news is horrific; they misspell everything; HOOSTON for Houston for example! But, here; in blogland I just don't care. Y'all can spell stuff however you like! I haven't had any trouble reading and understanding y'all, I read this for fun, not to be critical. I think you should write in your own voice, however that comes across to you. It's more interesting that way.

So how does ALL this tie in with being country; well y'all; when you ARE COUNTRY, you don't need to go around pointing out other folks mistakes; you work on cleaning up your own, Graciousness is a big part of bein' country. We have to find the good in others, and praise that. I know I'm guilty of bein' picky at times, but I'm still learning. Y'all out there in blog land are good teachers. I appreciate that. Glad I found ya'.

When you are country, it isn't about where you LIVE, it is what is in your heart and soul. Country folks are helpful, they have a spirit of generosity and kindness. They share openly with others. They have a spirituality that does not thrive on putting others down to make themselves feel superior. I always say that smart people don't need to announce they are smart. I live in the country, but more importantly, the country lives in me.

I thank you all, including the anonymous blogger I referred to here. She made me think in depth about what I do, and that is GOOD because without examination of ourselves, we cannot grow; if we don't grow ,we become stagnant and eventually die. So keep up the good work all of you, I'll be by to visit and chat, y'all stop by too.

I can't promise I won't make mistakes, but knowing y'all, you will help me learn from them in a kind fashion as many of you have already done thus far. Keep up the good work. And thanks to Two Barking Dogs for helping me when I began; otherwise I would never have known how to post so y'all could read it! She is a gem; go read her blog too!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well said.

I agree about the music - only when I am surfing blogs from work !! LOL. At home, I like it because it can be a real insight into the person who is blogging.

Spelling mistakes used to make me crazy. That was until I went back and re-read my own blog and noticed how many mistakes I made (always typos, NEVER spelling mistakes !! LOL)

I really liked your blog from the git-go and I'm glad you are enjoying yourself, too.

Blogging has been a real eye opener for me, too. I have met some really nice and funny folks that I might never have crossed paths with.

When this blogging becomes a chore, I will quit - but, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

You're doing a great job! And I love the photos, too.

Chanda said...

You said that all so right. I too enjoy music on blogs and I have discovered some new loves, right off of peoples blogs . And I borrow a song or two at times if need be. Its easy to share the music from playlist. I love when people go the extra mile and try to mach up music to a post also. I mispell all the time some on purpose some on carelessness I guess. I don't really care. I just recieved an email the other day about mispelled word and they have studied our poor brains enough to understand that we only reallysee the first and last letter and still out brain reads it corresctly. They had a form letter with badly mispelled words and Me and hubby both read 3 paragraphs correctly. So there mis ann. blog lady, Tell her to put that in her pipe and smoke it.!!!

Catty Wampus said...

You guys rock! I hope you are always out here in blog land; you both have such wonderful fun blogs and it would be an empty blog world without you too!

Michaelle said...

Merrie, I LOVE your blog. Although I live in town now, I am still a country girl. I love dogs too! I have met some awesome people through blogging and I cherish them. Come visit me sometime at Monkey's Momma.

Diane Fay (littlealma) said...

Amen Sister!!! Very well said! Oh to be a truly gracious person! I am going to enjoy reading more of your blog also!!!

And I still don't know if I live in the country or city. I grew up in a town of 1,000 people in Wisconsin, so when I married and moved to St. Joseph, MI, (10,000) people, I thought I had moved to the city, but I hear people talking about how small St. Joe is I am always surprised. (By the way when I was growing up in Wisconsin my front yard was on Main Street, and we didn't live on a farm, even though my back yard looked out onto fields - I thought I lived in the city then!) I guess it all depends on your perspective! (grin!)

But I hope my attitude it is still country! And yes - it has been great getting to meet people through blogland - there are a lot of wonderful people out there.

I only wish I could discipline myself to write more in my own blog. I love looking at other blogs (and boy - that exponential stuff - how true!) and my hubby will sometimes make comments about how many hours I spend on my computer already! Oh well!

Well hubby just brought me a wonderful omelet for breakfast, so better eat it before it gets cold! But hugs to another Michigander - I think there are about five of us now!

Hugs from SW Michigan! Diane


My Country Baby Murphy