It is not a secret amongst my friends and family that I’m not a big supporter of Facebook. Like most things digital, I was an early adopter and joined when you still needed a .edu email to register. I rarely used it for purposes other than education regarding advertising and partnership possibilities. My old company, Cellfire, was actually one of the first ways companies like General Mills and P&G could effectively advertise on the Facebook platform.

I gradually became less enamored from a personal perspective when it became a year-round Christmas card delivery system – you only saw the good parts of people’s lives. Sure, there are plenty of examples of people sharing pain, but it is primarily a life-envy platform, showing people in the best light possible.

All of which is fine unless you have an envy problem. I do. So for me, I’d prefer not to see the green grass of other lives, sent out in a steady drip of celebrations, sunset pictures, and silly pets. But that leads to another problem.

My blog is becoming Facebook-like. I’m gradually getting fatigued of writing about the cute, fun, and pretty things in my life. I’m grateful for these times and enjoy writing about them, but it is now starting to ring hollow for me. I try really hard for my blog to be for me, not for the readers. I want it to be part of the digital breadcrumbs of my life, much like my mom’s and grandma’s daily diaries were for their generations. The minute I start thinking about entertaining my readers versus being honest is the day I stop blogging.

I feel like I am very close to stopping. I want to share more of the downsides to life, the ugliness of our human condition, and my anger towards the exotic pet trade (not a random thought, stay tuned). But I also want to be positive. So in the end, the hope is that my blog will soldier on and that I will find a balance that reveals the holistic Deliberate Life, not just the sunny side. Wish me luck?

Oh, and who noticed the spring flower in the new header? Maybe I need to find uglier images to help my balance….