Writing is knowing. Writing is informing. Writing is sharing.
Writing is everything one needs to connect with another, or the Other- other people, spaces, imaginations and universes. Writing is a way to express your deepest thoughts, craziest ideas and burning passions. So it seemed natural to start writing for others and among others, in the form of a blog. The purpose of a blog is to convey personal feelings about anything and everything, yet it is also meant for the public eye, meant to be seen and read and appreciated by hundreds of people. It is meant to be shared.
Meant to share a common passion, a similar interest or even just a same curiosity. Here, it will be culture. Culture and all the definitions this word encompasses – the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively; a refined understanding or appreciation of culture; the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society; even the cultivation of plants ( Source: Oxford Dictionaries), as this blog will also address themes such as environment, travels and natural beauty. Culture is probably one of the most beautiful and inspiring human accomplishment which must be celebrated everyday, thus the main purpose of this blog – to recognise the beauty around us and praise it. Culture as art, achievement, collective, understanding, appreciation, cultivation, customs, ideas and most of all, people. A positive blog, all about optimism, fostering ideas and nurturing values. To connect all forms of expression together, not all through writing, but also drawing, photography and music.
This blog will convey personal feelings, opinions and creations, but not in an intimate way – not in the first person. A more universal, inclusive language will be adopted for everyone to identify with. This introductory post must be perceived as an invitation to read, to share and to write too. And to listen attentively…listen to the murmurs that surround you.
What are murmurs? A murmur is a quiet, softly spoken utterance, almost inaudible. Something you have to pay attention to, something that requires focus in order to hear it. Not something loud and noisy and exuberant. No, it is something more discreet, more subtle thus infinitely more precious. It can be secretive and intimate, shared by only a few people. A murmur can be destined for only one specific person worthy of trust, or for no one, just falling in silence or only meant for oneself. But a murmur can also be collective, the unspoken expression of a particular feeling shared by a group of people.
So the notion of murmur includes both ideas of intimacy and community, of personal and sharing. Appropriate to the general message of the blog, don’t you think? Yet let’s bring the notion of murmur to a whole new level, make it a more concrete symbol. Let’s play around the word. Let’s call our articles, comments and archives – all forms of writing, really – ‘murmurs’. The murmur is what connects author and reader. It is the writing itself, the art itself, culture itself. Let’s become murmurers, pass on our ideas, creations and opinions to those who are ready to listen.
Listen to what culture has to say…
NOTE: This note is probably the only time I will use the first person to write, but it is essential to understand the whole process of the blog. This blog is meant for expression. Since I have grown up with two languages, two cultures, and am now living between two countries, I have decided to write in the two languages I know. My mother tongue, French. And my language of heart, English. But don’t worry – apart from this first introductory post, it will never be the same articles translated in the other language (unless there are demands from readers on a particular article). Translation is not what interests me – I want to write from scratch, let the words flow, express myself in the language that feels the most comfortable according to different topics. Practice both my French and English. Share both cultures, tie them together, make them stronger. In between. Between borders. Between cultures.