Too busy?

Photo by: Tim Bindner

I have been thinking about my blog lately and what direction I want to take it in. I will explain my purpose and also some recent feedback about my posts.

I started this blog back in 2017 to write about my experiences while hiking. It has stuck to that simple premise, but has morphed to include my photography, battle with mental health, and discussions on various topics that are prevalent in my mind at the moment of writing.

My goal has NEVER been to influence, or change, anyone’s mind on the various subjects I write about. They are my opinion, based on my knowledge of the subject and research or experience I have with the subject. I have never claimed to be an expert at anything, but if I write about something, I am giving the reader my honest opinion.

Over the years, my readership has changed. Some that were there from the beginning still are, while others have come and gone. I understand that is part of the growth of any medium, including blogs.

I have received two different feedback comments lately that made me question why I am writing blogs and if I will continue.

The first was that “I get kinda lost when you talk about the technical aspects of photography.” As a photographer with that passion, I imagine I do indeed go too deep into technical aspects that make no sense to non-photographers. I have limited those blogs in the future. I will still display my photographs within the posts and briefly talk about the feelings or thoughts on the photographs, but stray away from all the technical aspects of the picture.

Next comment was tougher to swallow. I was told my post was a bit too dark or negative. As mentioned above, I write about what is on my mind at the moment and how I process the specific topic within my brain. I have learned over my 53+ years on this earth that I can easily handle positive subjects, topics or issues, and thus don’t need to write about them. It is the anxiety, stress and negative subjects I work through in these posts. That is how I process the topic at hand. Daniel Johns once said, “when I’m happy, I don’t sit down to write songs. I go out and surf or go out for a run with the dog.”

Based on that last feedback, I do now realize I need to write about the positive things more often in my life. Gaps of time between writing have been because I was less anxious and things were going well. It is only fair that I share positive topics with my readers as well.

Finally, I want to mention something else I have heard a lot. “I’m too busy.” This can apply to reading my posts, answering a text, or answering a phone call. Here comes the negative. That is hogwash. I found in my written journal something I wrote not too long ago. No one is too busy. It is a matter of priorities. I believe that to be 100% true. Everyone has time to sit down a drink a cup of coffee, or pick up a book or thumb through social media. My blogs take 5–10 minutes to read and are posted once a week. Too busy? Nope. Priority. I would much rather people be honest than tell me they are too busy.

I also want to reiterate that I appreciate all feedback on my posts. It tells me people are reading, my point gets across and sometimes others can identify with what I have written about. Again, I never plan to change a mind on a subject, just offer my take on it. Feedback and comments help me learn about other points of view as well.

As humans, we are a social species. I have tried to call ‘friends’ and even text them, with little to no response. Does that mean they are too busy? Too busy to reply to a text? This has happened over and over. Busy or not a priority? As humans, we have lost the ability to have simple conversations and make time for each other. Go to a restaurant and look around. How many are looking at their phones and not simply having a conversation with their party?

Please make time for each other. Life is short and you never know if that text, phone call or lunch with a friend will be the last time you see them. If you get a call from me randomly, pick it up. I’d love to chat with you.

Until next time,

Tim (Kilmer)