Manners, continued: Shadow Blogging

When I lived in Japan, I was fascinated by many of the customs and manners.

• People take their shoes off when they enter a home;
• People bow instead of shaking hands;


• Soft, warm cloths are brought to the dinner table before dining;


• Gifts are given to guests who attend a wedding or funeral;


• People often practice meditation and visualization before partaking in an activity.

The last item was often referred to as shadowing. Once in a department store china department, I saw people "shadow sipping" (pretend sipping) from imaginary tea cups to see if they liked it. I saw others shadow swinging imaginary golf clubs or baseball bats. The practice, it seems, was to imagine in one's mind or visualize the event to experience what it might be like without really doing the activity. In such an overcrowded country (by my standards), it amazed me how many people had the abiltiy to "go within."

This might seem like a stretch, but I imagine the same activity might be worthwhile on our blogging. You've now been reading my posts every day, and you know, regardless of your own personal experience, what a blog post might look like...pictures, links, comments, and so forth. It's time to imagine how you want to be perceived by others, how your posts might look, how it feels to comment and to receive comments.

Today we'll try our hand at "shadow blogging," blogging on paper instead of online. It should be fun. If you are absent, we'll have to get together and work out this activity for you!

Sayonara!