Huh? Why would I do that? Why would anyone? Does it make really make any sense at all to start blogging in earnest in an era when blogging – real, authentic, non-corporate, personal blogging – has grown passe?

But why is the personal blog (as opposed to the curated mommy/style blog with slyly apt ads) irrelevant now? Have we really lost our need to connect with other human beings on a deeply personal, confessional level? Do we no longer have that sweet, raw yearning for affiliation? I’m less than inclined to believe that. I think now, more than ever, we need to be reaching out to each other in any way, with urgency, and need, and joy.

I imagine all of the lonely people, walled off in cubicles all day, walking through darkened streets to a home with only their own company. All of the inside jokes, wry observations, sweet half-smiles, and frustrated tears that never find an audience. How is that not a tragedy – maybe not a great one, but one that is small and hugely avoidable.

Just a castaway
An island lost at sea
Another lonely day
With no one here but me
More loneliness
Than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair

I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle

A year has passed since I wrote my note
But I should have known this right from the start
Only hope can keep me together
Love can mend your life
But love can break your heart

I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle

Walked out this morning
Don’t believe what I saw
A hundred billion bottles
Washed up on the shore
Seems I’m not alone at being alone
A hundred billion castaways
Looking for a home

I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle

Sending out an SOS

-Sting, “Message in a Bottle”