On October 14, 2011, Meg began our first post this way:

My mother and I have decided to start a blog. For as long as I can remember, we have talked about everything going on in the world. Naturally, our conversations trend toward identifying problems and then brainstorming possible solutions. Overall, our primary objective has always been to visualize the world in balance.

This is our 82nd post.  We have been “viewed” in 47 countries including such diverse places as the Netherlands (of course we have family there), Serbia, South Africa, Brazil and Croatia.  Two of our most popular posts have been “I couldn’t resist the tulips”–yesterday, and “The importance of buying local”–in January.

Our focus from the beginning has been about finding and maintaining balance in our lives and in our world.  We sometimes discuss whether we have maintained that focus, because most of what we post is about beauty in the world around us.  Only occasionally do we write a piece about meaningful issues. When we do, we work hard to write in a way to encourage civility and to be open to the opinions of others.  We never want to embarrass ourselves or cause harm to others. But trust me when I say that our opinions really are only Meg’s and mine and not the opinions of our families, our employers, or anyone else.  We do quote from documents such as the U.S. Constitution, international treaties, books and similar information.  Hopefully we do so accurately.

For those who do not blog, it is difficult to explain the personal satisfaction associated with hitting “publish” after researching, drafting, reviewing and editing each post.  More important is that writing a blog encourages us to look at life a little differently.  When I drive by a beautiful statute or see graffiti on the wall, or look at photographs of countries we’ve visited, I try to figure out the best way to share the information with others.  When I read a book, or a newspaper article, I wonder whether others would be interested in learning about it.

Essentially, it causes us to live our lives with greater awareness.  And isn’t greater awareness an essential step toward living life better, while meeting our goal of finding and maintaining balance; consistent with our name Shifting the Balance.     Ann