Friday, September 9, 2016

Making the CDHK-family bonds stronger


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Recently I read a comment on one of the posts here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and (not that it worries me), but I think it's good to respond on that comment here in an extra post.

This extra episode I titled "Making the CDHK family bonds stronger" and in this title the reason for this extra post is hidden.

I am grateful that CDHK has become a wonderful and loving community / family of haiku poets all around the globe and I love creating it, but (and I know for sure that I am not the only one) there is more than CDHK alone. Next to creating CDHK I have a busy job and a loving family of myself. But, and I think I don';t talk only for myself, there is not always time enough to make CDHK or even visit all of your wonderful blogs to comment on them and read all your beauties.
Of course I do love to visit you all to read your haiku and tanka, but time is not always on my side.

Time isn't always at our side
In the above I tried to tell you that, and I can understand that completely, we can make our CDHK bond more by visiting each other's blogs more often to "like" them or to "comment" on them. One of our family-members said the following (and I quote):

[...] "I have observed that haijin who are part of CDHK hardly visit the blog of fellow of haijins to comment or even like the works they post on the blogs. This is worrying to me. I know we all do not have time on our hands, but for the sake of fellow feeling,the bonding and love we have found on CDHK, I believe it is only complimentary for us to visit each other more frequently on the blogs. 

We may not need validation when we write and post on our blogs but hei if no one reads and comment or critique, how do we grow. [...]

How can we make this bonding of our CDHK-family stronger? Without "working us over the head" (I don't know if you say that in this way). As I wrote above and you all know that I think, I am a busy guy and I don't have enough time to visit you all, but I am trying to visit you all ... and yes I know I am behind with commenting too ...

Do you have ideas to make this bonding better? Please share your ideas and thoughts on this with us all here at CDHK in the comment field. We are a warmhearted family and I need you all to make CDHK a better place to share and ... as you know you are all part of CDHK and therefore we make CDHK together.

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille

15 comments:

  1. I think we all have a great will and would like to do more, would like to visit more, would like to write more comments .... but (there always is a "but") it's mostly impossible ... we have to make priorities. I fully understand your situation Kristjaan and I often wonder how you find all this time to keep CDHK in this high quality. It's so impressing and I do appreciate your work very much!!!!! It makes me sad to read that message. The worried person have to turn that worry to something creative. That's not your job to do Kristjaan!
    It must be goodenough to do one's best! I think B i r g i t t a

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  2. Unfortunately I think the person who made the comment has a point about some...
    But we should also make blogs visitors friendly: those in blogger who make colleagues go through a whole process to make a comment, clicking on pictures etc to prove we are genuine visitors ask a lot. Bloggers should Also have the URL/ID option.
    I personally am forever grateful to those who visit me, especially to those who take the time to step outside the WordPress/blogger cabal. But yes, I agree that some seem to have other priorities...

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  3. Since Kristjaan has a family and a demanding job, I am amazed that he has the time to create his lengthy entries for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and to write his own haiku. Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

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  4. And if I may add, in my agreement to the initial comment, that I see a comment on these pages here not so often!

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  5. Yes ... life gets in the way so many times ... but please, for the sake of our colleagues ... let's all visit one another. Hugs all around.

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  6. I can't look into your agenda so I can't expect from you all to visit every one's blog or website. I only can ask you to visit each other.
    As I look at myself I am trying to visit you all, but I can't garantee you that I will visit you all after every post on time. So it's up to you to decide how you cope with this.
    I will try to visit you all and comment or like your work.

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  7. Hello Kristjaan and fellow haijin.

    When I began writing a blog back in 2013 I was unaware of all the reading and writing protocol that goes with the process - it can be really very rewarding to visit and comment one's colleagues - but it also can be very trying and difficult. Especially if one is facing life problems, which one doesn't feel necessary to share with the whole world.

    Here is where the problem of peer pressure sets in, in the sense that there are people who would make you feel guilty if you participate at a prompt blog and don't go around commenting everyone's work. It's even worse if you are the one creating the prompt blog. Finally at a certain point, one feels hassled and stressed - and sometimes one just stops writing at all.

    How to reconcile the obligations of reading and commenting with one's writing is beyond me. All I can say is that, unfortunately, life isn't just about blogging - there is more to it than the virtual aspects of meeting virtual people with virtual sometimes impossible expectations.

    As you say Kristjaan, there are a lot of other things beyond blogging ... our families, our jobs and our commitments to reality.

    Besides all this I agree with Woodsman about the hassle of commenting on Blogger blogs - with the Wordpress at least I "like" if I've no time to actually comment - not so with Blogger. As for writing outside the cabal - it just becomes even more difficult to have to register and sign in to a bunch of different blog sites in order to read or comment our colleague's works. I can't and don't even want to pass my life on the social networks to make my colleagues happy ... though I still appreciate the work I can read - I just won't register to comment but this being said I will try to visit as many colleagues as I can ...

    I hope you are all well.

    Namaste

    Bastet


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    1. I reiterate these thoughts. I don't know where I found the time in 2013 to 2014 to read and comment so much plus get out about 5 posts a day...maybe I was just rediscovering writing. I read a few but not like i used to and if it is a choice with taking time to write or read, I have to choose writing.

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  8. Carpe Diem Challenge # 1049 Fish and Frogs:

    fish dispersing
    the bullfrog's deep dive
    summer evening

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  9. It's a real pleasure for me to write here and to improve my English in haiku poetry. I am busy with my family, my job and so many things too like all the people. For me, it's like "free time" writing and challenging with others all around the world. I comment when I can, I try to leave a sign but there's no obligation. I'm always pleased to read and to be read. :)

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  10. I salute you for your dedication to creating and maintaining this daily blog for all of us. I would hope that each of us does the best we can writing to the prompts and reading and commenting on other's work.
    Thank you Kristjaan

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  11. I am going to echo Woodsman and Georgia. One of the features I "like" about Wordpress is that I can at least acknowledge that I have read and enjoyed a person's piece. Many other sites do not allow that plus create hassles to log in -as Woodsman pointed out. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the Carpe Diem community even if I can't submit to every challenge and read every poem. I try my best and feel guilty about what I don't get to in a timely manner. The extended time frame has been a huge help for me, so thank you. I will try to do better in terms of interacting with others and am game for an additional social media platform like Facebook.

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  12. I admit that I very rarely comment other people's work but I also know that everyone of us leaves a piece of ourselves in our words the best way we can at the moment. I appreciate every comment and I know what I'm expected to do but I simply don't find myself as expert for that so I rather chose "like" instead of talking. I also agree with one of the previous comments, I'm usually logged on WordPress and can't do much on other platforms. Still, this blog and it's followers are my biggest insiration. Every post and submited works are real gems.

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  13. I have to say that taking the time to read some posts especially when my muse is dormant, the CDHK family members do inspire me and several just leave me in awe. But we should not feel pressure to read...it is like visiting family or friends, the quality of a visit is what counts not the quantity.

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  14. Must say I am not the best commentator in the world by far but I still do visit and read the work of other haijin from Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Even if in silence! :) Yes, things are easier with Wordpress where I can click the "Like" button for the writer to let know I have been there and enjoyed (if a comment hasnt been written) - the option that is not available on Blogspot, for example, but very handy in the rush of daily life. Yet I do read, enjoy and respect, learn from, admire and get inspired by the art of the written word, composed by CDHK family members - no matter which platform they have chosen for publishing it. Have, do and will continue doing that.
    Warmest wishes, Ese aka 白い蝶

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