Paper or computer ?

Lesley asked yesterday in a comment here whether I get more pleasure from my blog or from my paper journal. I had no immediate answer. Then I realized that they are both equally pleasurable to me -- although in different ways.

My blog is pleasurable for the community that it has made me part of. People all over the world read and comment on my blog. I read their blogs and comment on them. I have collaborated with people from different parts of the US and from Mexico as a result of my blog. That gives me great pleasure. I also like the fact that blogging stretches my mind. It has enriched my life tremendously.

But there is something about picking up my Parker 45 fountain pen and notebook that is pure joy. I guess my journaling gives more private pleasure. There is the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a notebook and reach for a new one. And then there is the beauty of an empty notebook that you know will soon be filled with your thoughts. Somehow a blank compose box in Blogger isn't quite the same!

I use both my blog and my journal for personal writing and more professional writing. In some ways they are redundant. But for now, I choose not to abandon either one for the other.