I remember when I got my first laptop computer, back when I made a trip to Canada for winter vacation in 2006. I came back to Okinawa really excited -- I could bring my computer anywhere, do anything, and more easily share my thoughts with the world!
A blog was born in January 2007, and I could sense the excitement around me as well, as so many friends were also taking up their own corner on the "Information Superhighway." My blogging hero was, of course, my pastor, who once posted 128 times in a single month! I, on the other hand, loved sharing thoughts but just didn't have an exciting enough life to post any more than 27 times in any month.
But over the past year or more, my desire to post pictures, and share about what was going on in my life, has diminished significantly. Alas, perhaps a new chapter in my life has made me a little more private. It has also opened my eyes to the fact that communication is changing. People do not maintain their blogs the way they used to. (Check my sidebar and see what I mean -- I think only 3 of the 12 blogs I was following have actually updated in the past 2 weeks.)
And for myself, instead of diving more deeply into the world of social media, I am taking a step back. I want to return to the days when having coffee with someone for the first time in months isn't just a chance to talk about the things I already saw on their Facebook page. I do not ever want to join Twitter or any other social networks. They cheapen communication, friendship, and the genuineness of the human life.
Yes, perhaps you have reached the conclusion already before I have actually said anything. This will likely be my last blog post. It has been a fun ride, and I have really enjoyed putting my thoughts out there for people to read. The bilingual posts that dominated 2009 through 2011 were also a great chance for me to practice writing in Japanese. And best of all, it is a sort of record of my life over the past six years.
But I will find different ways to do the same thing. Perhaps I will create an offline blog, to be shared just with my wife and (eventual) family.
Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog, to post comments (few as they may have been), and to ponder various topics with me. I do love you all, and hope to have real, face-to-face conversations with you all at some point. I am not rejecting technology altogether, and am still reachable by e-mail. I am also going to keep this blog up for at least a year, and my Facebook account, while untouched in recent days, is still active.
Catch you all in the real world. God's love and peace be upon you all.
