manifesto of sorts

Here’s the dilemma I face regarding updating my blog while I’m visiting my family. I believe my family has a right to their privacy, and I intend in my journals and writings, as well as I can to respect that right. The issue  for writers is always that we are destined to expose those we love, whether by intent or by accident. It is the same issue that all artists face at some time in their musings. To paint someone is to expose them, not only to the view of all, but possibly to an understanding of your view of that subject. To write a piece of music about someone or some event is to expose your own internal feelings about that subject. When you write about anything it is almost impossible to leave out the bits that tell how you feel about that subject, even if it is the most obscure reflection possible. 

I have had this issue come up in most of my writing, and it is probably my hesitation to expose my family, and my feelings about my family, that have hampered my concentration on writing and being published. I do have an ongoing concern about exposing those I love to my opinions, or the opinions of others. I am not a candidate for reality TV. Even though I have for years belong to a society, of sorts, whose whole premise is based on exposure of your deepest, darkest secrest; I have manage, within that structure, to maintain a sense of my own privacy. 

The reason I write this is to let you know that, although I intend to provide you with as open a view into my round the world experience as possible; there are parts and pieces of my life that I am not ready to expose, and will not do so regardless of how many more readers I would acquire if I was willing to subject my family and friends to that type of exposure. It is my goal to write as truthfully as I am able to do, without causing harm to those I love and care for. I realize this is not the “popular” stance, and that in this society all is sacrificed for the sake of exposure, regardless of the tone or level of that exposure. That is not for me. I believe I am at a place in my life where I no longer fear exposing my own inner self; but I will not expose others who have not volunteered. 

To my friends and family: If at any time you feel you have been exposed beyond your own comfort level, please do not hesitate to let me know.

So, while I intend to write as truthfully and as clearly as possible, I am more dedicated to a path of “being human” and I will not sacrifice that path for the sake of being a “writer”. There are, I’m sure,  writers out there who will howl in laughter or spit derision at this aspiration. So be it. I will be the writer I am meant to be, and will only hope that there will be readers who accept the limitations I place on writings.