How much do we give of ourselves?

We can't learn or communicate if we don't respond.  A response is paying respect to the effort.

yes, i agree totally, I always seed, except when i am not here…:((…as of late, campaigning and been away……

I feel the same, i like to seed and acknowledge ones effort and sentiment.

I also love to give!!
yaffa

Great reminder…and I needed it :)

With appreciation,
Helen

What a great thing to point out.  I love searching blogs of others and commenting on them, whether they are in my “circle of friends” or not.  Some people just have fascinating things to share!

Love and light, Gael!

Hello Zephyr. Great blog. Thanks. It's amazing isn't it when people take the time to stop by and share their minds, thoughts. I without thought respond to every one who stops by, by my blog. How can one not, how can one be passive?:)
But if someone doesn't respond to my commnets, that's perfectly fine. It never comes to be minded cos nothing is ever expected of. People are free to be either ways. Silence also speaks. I hear it all the time.:-)

Greetings, my dear.  I've often wondered about this same thing myself.  I know how pleased I am when I find evidence that someone felt some connection grow between us because of some thought I've shared on a post, so I nearly always try to let a friend know that I've stopped by their blog.  The thing I'm not very good at is acknowledging the comments that friends leave for me, which of course, should happen as a matter of course.  Something to work on, following Sam's most excellent example!  Love you guys.

Mamakat

Hi Zephyr. This is such an important point; and I've taken the liberty of posting it [with appropriate links to this blog and your name, of course, on Gaia Networking. If you read a blog, comment on it

I hope it's okay. If not, pl let me know.

Very interesting topic and completely understood.
I've often wondered why some blogs only get views and no comments.
I've also noticed that sometimes the blogs with the most comments are one's that involve drama of some kind. So let's start some drama. LOL~  Teasin  :-)
~Lisha

Hi Zephyr.  It is a great point, and a good reminder about the seeds too!

love to you!

By 'seeds' do we mean the 'I liked it' option?

Lisha, LOL.  That was the grin for the morning for me….  ;)

I was exploring all of this myself for the last week or so.  I visit my friend's blogs whenever I log in and comment when I am feeling what they wrote.   Commenting to comment without the writing having struck a chord is not something that I can do.   I also in the past have loved to explore the blogs of people I don't know yet, and used to comment to them often.  But more recently it felt a bit like intruding so I do it far more rarely now.  Hot blogs I am learning to stay away from in commenting because of the vast amount of notifications.  Would love it if I could figure out how to turn off notifications to just one blog….

Just some of my thoughts on commenting.  I do know that comments to my own blogs have been gifts for me.  And so are my friends here. 

Gael:

This is a timely blog.I remember writing a few blogs about this when I first came aboard and I also remember people getting pretty upset their blogs were not commented on. I agree that if someone blogs it is nice to at least show you have been there. Even a smily face is nice if time is limited.

When I first came here I sought out blogs no one had commented on that were wonderful in the hopes this person would at least feel as though someone read their blog and shared their thoughts. Now, I try to read as many as I can when I am online, which lately has been scanty. It seems lately I am wound up in online courses, and other distracting work.

I am feeling lately somewhat ambivalent with this place. Not sure why. Perhaps it is the mixed messages people give each other at times. Last month it was the sexual harassment some members were inflicting on others, sometimes it is a response that is judgmental, and then there is outright criticism on some others.

I know you always bring a balanced and fair reasoning to your blogs Gael. And I support you and your words here. Generosity is indeed a fine thing to share, and yet I think it is also a good thing to remember that blogging is a personal journal that in and of itself should bring some satisfaction to the blogger. And any comments pure gravy.

Also, there are people who do not acknowledge comments on their blogs, and after awhile people stop commenting. I have seen that, and I also knew one woman (now not here) who blogged, but never, ever commented on anyones blog but her own. There needs to be balance or some sense of community perhaps in the idea of sharing..

These are just thoughts…and I appreciate your sharing ours always Gael. Remember also, if you have an “open” profile, then people outside of Gaia can read your blogs and of course cannot comment without joining. There must be some of those numbers on the blog list as well.

Thanks for being such a loving and warm presence here Gael. I truly enjoy reading your blogs and the responses you also offer me thoughout the years…

You inspire us all to want to be more grateful and generous in our sharing.

Big hugs to all,

Aley

Oh, thank you for the friendly reminder, Gael.  I feel I comment more than receive comments really and it doesn't reaaly matter to me! I also do listen to silence! Blessings and hugs to you!

Sometimes I let my fear keep me from reaching out to people-fear that my comments are inadequate or unwelcome.  But when you look at it from the other person's point of view, those fears are kind of stupid.  I love getting comments, and it's reasonable to assume that other people do as well. 

The same can extend to my face-to-face interactions as well. 

At the end of the day, fear gives way to laziness and laziness becomes isolation.  Bad cycle.

Thanks for the thought!

Hello zephyr,
 If Gaia is as suggested a community of a different sort then  it is also the communication process and understanding which takes place. Founded not always on what is said, but what is left to silence. 

  It should then attempt to respect an individual's right to say nothing, but by the same token all should know at least they are heard if by no other means then a view of what they have to say, a tip of the hat as we travel.  Saying as they would have it without judgment, belief without ridicule, thought without preconditions.

 So while as has been stated it makes it difficult to always have something to say the sencery is this little town, roses and thorns alike of the heart, are of a beauty words respectfully do not always find.
Thanks

Reading the comments left here for you, I realize how each of us come from an entirely different space to blogging here at Gaia.  I was so excited when I found this community, I love interaction.  I write and share wondering what responses might be generated.  I was amazed by the lack of interaction from a community looking to build a new way of being.  Once read and not responded to, well it leaves a very empty sort of experience,  I wonder about the  sort of clannish approach to response here, certainly that sort of approach keeps limited ways of being and seeing…..  

I thank you for your responses to me they were wholly appreciated. 

Hi zephyrnorth, I thought I was done with my own comments, but the way you phrased something in your own caused me to take pause and add.  

 I was amazed by the lack of interaction from a community looking to build a new way of being.  Once read and not responded to, well it leaves a very empty sort of experience,  I wonder about the  sort of clannish approach to response here, certainly that sort of approach keeps limited ways of being and seeing…..  

I only came back to Gaia weeks ago after a six month absence.  In the times I have been an active member as I am now since I have been back, I am very active in writing blogs and in reading other's blogs.  I am not as keen on keeping up in groups, so many of them and I just get lost.  I had written one blog in particular well over a week ago in which I was expressing Joy in the discovery of a morning in alignment, couldn't wait to share it, and only two of my friends in the over 100 that I am connected to had commented.  I have some very active friends, at least a dozen write and commen often because I do see them commenting to their friends almost daily.  

Now normally I do not look at comments much although I like them when they come my way, but I got a feeling of resentment on that evening.  It set into motion one of the biggest lessons I have learned about myself, and about how I am going to view this community in the future.  What I discovered is that I should not be writing any blog at all with the thought of it being read or commented on.  If it is, that is because it was supposed to be.  The people around me are reading and commenting on exactly what it is that they are feeling the need to at this time, and it is not a reflection at all of where I am or even supposed to be.  I could feel the lessening of my judgments just start falling away and I have been very happy now with my writings, discoveries, and just allowing others to do and be what it is they are finding on their own journey. 

I really do believe that if I am bothered by the actions of another for myself, it is just something that I am needing to take a look at inside of myself.  Lesson time for Di.   ;)    And trust me, the lessons from this one were in many ways life changing.  :)

Sorry about taking this space for this wandering, but this comment by zephynorth really stuck a recent chord.

Have the best of days today!

Di

Reading through the discussions, I just wanted to add that when you look at the number o views, it does not really reflect the actual number of views for a specific blog, since if the viewer reads the blogs by clicking on the Blog/journal menu of each person, then his/her reading the blogs from there does not get counted. It does get counted when s/he decides to click on the specific blog to comment or give a seed or simply get counted.

Gael thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have been wondering about this as well & wrote a blog on the issue a while ago on the global gaia gathering day with the wish to connect with the many anonymous silent readers visiting my blog. I blog to strike up a conversation & to contribute to the community & have chosen to reflect mainly on the QaR's for that purpose. I only met 2 gais who were not already in my network & sadly my initiative did not generate any change. It has left me puzzled & caused me to loose momentum since then.

I now write most blogs set to network/friends only as it does help me maintain a sense of being connected compared to the one way communication with gais unknown to me. The flipside to this is ofcuz that I'm not connecting as much with gaia on a whole, but it keeps me feeling comfortable about being here.. <3