It’s Like Having  Coffee With a Trusted Friend

I’m assuming, since you’re here, that you have at least a small curious streak. You must have seen the link on the homepage that says “conversations among friends.” I know, I know, I didn’t give you very much information on what you were about to click on. I’m sorry, I could only fit so many words on the little rectangle graphic. But you clicked anyway, and I’m so glad you did!

Now that you’re here, I can explain what this spot is all about. 

Typically when you’re on your favorite blog, you find posts grouped by topic, hopefully nicely mapped out for you in the menu along the top. Lots of times the blogger will write not just one post on a topic, but an entire series. And some of us have a strange addiction to our editorial calendars. We do enjoy planning our posts and creating just what we believe our readers need and want.

But I got to thinking the other day, how different that is from how I really think and how I communicate “in real life” with my friends. So many times I’ve had thoughts swirling around in my head; something I’d really like to share, but I don’t quite have my thoughts fleshed out into a coherent blog post. Or I put the thought on hold thinking “I need to work out the details or plan a series around that.” And the thought sits on my computer (or worse, in my head) and seldom gets released into the world. (OK, sometimes that’s a good thing. Not all of my thoughts are helpful, or logical, or tied to anyone’s reality but my own!)

For those thoughts that should find their way out of my head, I finally decided to give them a place to go. That place is this little page called “conversations among friends.”

Let me ask you a question. When you get together with a friend, say, over coffee, or on your couch, what do you talk about?
Do you schedule the “date” for a time when you know you’ll have a certain number of topics to discuss? And do you get all of your thoughts on those topics organized into a logical sequence, with proper conclusions drawn, before discussing them with your friend? I’m guessing not. Most of us just chat. We move seamlessly from one topic to the next. Rarely do we stick with one topic long enough to come to a “conclusion.” Never do we solve the world’s problems, rarely do we solve many or our own. But we enjoy the conversation, the edification, and the sharpening of our own swords with the questions we ask, the council we give and receive, and the empathy we share.

That’s what I want to do here. Just chat. Ask questions, empathize with one another, point each other to truthful encouragement, and enjoy each other’s friendship.

So, on a totally random basis (because that’s how regularly I get together with friends) I’ll come right to this spot and “invite you to coffee” and start the conversation with something that has either been on my mind, or something a friend brings up in conversation either online or “in real life” (just so you know–incase it’s not obvious–I believe online friendships are very much “real life.)

I really wanted to avoid giving each topic its own post. I want to keep this very free of formalities and as organic as possible, like how a “real” conversation would flow from one topic to the next.  But there would be no way for you to leave your comments on a specific topic if I did that. So… each topic will have its own post. But no picture. Just words among friends. (Yes, the means it will be difficult to share on Pinterest. But that’s OK. How often do you post the conversation you just had over coffee on Pinterest? And besides, you can pin this page if you like.)

Here we go! Choose any of the conversations below, click on the link, and join us there for some encouragement and some mind-sharpening.

First topic; Is is Ok to cry?

photo courtesy of Antonioguillem @dollarphotoclub.com