Lately I’ve been wandering long through the words of others. Reading blog after blog, signing up to read more blogs and wishing for more posts has become somewhat of an obsession.

I love reading the lighthearted, the deep, the funny, the serious, the anecdotes of life and children, and the thoughts of other women living in this world processing their own life thoughts through this world of blogging.

I love it!

Somehow reading through the lives real, right-now, things-in-common-with-me people is much more appealing than any old novel or random story (although I read my fair share of those as well) or possibly even living my own life (who really wants to do the dishes anyway??). I like somehow knowing these people through their words. Though I tend to lurk and not comment too much, I’m comfortable with that. They communicate to the world. I am an audience.

I wonder if this sort of living is healthy or wise.

In the midst of reading other people’s lives, I forget to write my own story, to think my own thoughts and to spend time with my own not-so-distant and this-side-of-the-screen friends and such.

Instead of having my own God-experience, I’m reading about other peoples’. Instead of making that incredible dessert, I’m reading how other people did. Instead of finessing my own skill as a writer I’m simply reading other peoples’ words. Or just continually checking for new posts.

I think part of my lurking is a desire to emulate, or learn, or think, or be inspired. None of these are bad, but perhaps if the long reading and time spent keep me from accomplishing what I could/should/would otherwise I should reconsider those moments and decide how to spend them best or better.

Perhaps I should limit my reading to blogs that inspire, encourage, teach, cause thoughts to be formed, or bring joy to life.

Or possibly I should just change my habits of when to check and when to read and instead hang out with my people, not waste buckets of time on pinterest or facebook, and generally just be more intentional with how I’m living and knowing what is important.

It is an interesting topic.

But I am fairly certain that constantly hitting the refresh button on my google reader is not the most efficient use of time or energy.