No Facade, Only Liner Notes

I read an online writer remark the other day that he hates bloggers who write "with the facade of having it all together."

And yet, we all know that nobody has it all together.

So if someone wants to gather up and post a few sparkly parts of their day among the otherwise chaotic, confusing, and disappointing jumble of messy parts, I say, bravo.  Way not to wallow; way to focus on the things that make you smile.  (Maybe Martha Stewart would have blogged about how to make small spaces feel cozy instead of claustrophobic.)

Conversely, if someone wants to push back the curtain on the parts we often leave unexamined and unsaid, if someone braves the criticism and misunderstanding and says, this is backstage and sometimes we're frantic back here, I say, bravo.  It takes humble courage to put your truth on the table and not mind that some people might deem it too raw for their taste.

It sounds so trite, you wouldn't think it was true, but it is: you can't please everyone.

So I'll write with glittering happiness so sharp it hurts one day, and equally painful frustration, misgiving and discouragement  the next, and hope I will simply be seen as real.

Don't we all swing between our best and worst selves on a regular basis?  Yes, I get that if we start swinging too fast, too extremely, if our pendulum goes wildly out of control, we have diagnosable problems with medical names.  Yes,  I get that.

A wild pendulum is one thing.

But tame it just a bit, and doesn't it become a metronome?

Could these contrasts be the things that help us keep pace?

Would my song fade out listlessly without the metronome of my contradictions pushing the music forward?

Keep playing.
Play through the hard parts; tick.
Play through the easy parts; tick.
Play when you're bored; tick.
Play when you're passionate;tick

Let the contrasts keep you on pace,
Let your own contradictions steady you

joy and grief

order and chaos

generosity and selfishness

confidence and cowardice

peace and perplexity

trust and fear

near and far

The song goes on.

We write these blogs; they are just a few notes in the margin of the sheet music. Liner notes for the cd case.

You catch me on one tick: life is grand

The metronome moves: life is horrible

Next stanza: I am a loving, vibrant woman

tick

Please leave me alone

If the contrasts serve as a metronome and somehow help me keep pace, I guess the more important question is:

Whose music am I playing?