Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Sandi McBride with Ghost Story and Colleen with Grown-Ups Don't Climb Trees. The other top contenders were Corey with Blue; Merisi with Lady Button Eyes (and did you know her photography got a mention on National Geographic Traveler?); Old Man Lincoln with Change; Sandy Carlson with Right Here, Right Now; Maggie May with Visiting Bristol; Lisa's Chaos with Who's There?; Retired And Crazy with What Does Love Mean?; Mommy Gossip with My Haunted First Date and For The Love Of Pets with Butterflies. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

And once more, my thanks to all of you. This blog received more than 20,000 page views in October.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Colleen with Summer's End On Camano Island and River Poet with Dust Bunnies In The Nest. The other top contenders were Moannie with Magical Moment In Mexico; Sandra with You Gotta Love Monday; Mrs Nesbitt with Jack Frost; My Five Men with Fun Shapes Of Pasta; Jennifer Harvey with I Must Be Crazy; Fat, Frumpy And Fifty with What's In A Name; Bear Naked with Why Teddy Bears Are Sew Lovable; Louise with A Keen Sense Of Smell; Fishing Guy with Autumn Is In The Air and Lee with Miscellaneous Bits. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you.

Post Of The Day

Could we please have a rousing chorus of applause for Colleen and The Boy and the Christmas Present. Among the other posts that really caught my fancy today were Akelamalu's ESP and Me; San Meredith's Four Apparitions in Holding Pattern; Lee's In Support of Right Brain-Left Brain and Kimberly's Orchard Boy Proposal.

Post Of The Day

My personal message to bloggers has always been to get out their cameras and post shots of their surroundings. What might seem mundane to them is always interesting to other readers. And so I take great pride in giving Colleen the nod for her delightful combination of words and striking images in Summer’s End. Among the many other posts that caught my fancy today were Celine's poignant Vera, RK's intriguing Word Building, Dan's Searching For Snakes, Mrs Nesbitt's memorable H is for Happiness and Squiggles' Mom with the highly entertaining Fia(t)sco.

If you'd like to nominate a post, just leave me the url.

Full Esteem Ahead

Self-Analysis, In A Roundabout Sort Of Way

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

In the past few days, the issue of self-analysis and self-worth has come up in a few forums. My take on it is simple. Everyone at some stage analyses a) what sort of person they are and b) what sort of person they want to be.

I'm happy with who I am. Always have been. And I reckon I'm on track to becoming the person I want to be. So it was great to see the issue raised by two very good bloggers, Colleen and Dan.

It was refreshing to see Colleen writing, "I'm pretty secure with myself." Terrific, Colleen, I'm with you. I think you have every reason to feel that way.

And Dan asked, "How would you rate your self-esteem on a scale of one to ten? Of course, you don't have to answer. Mine used to be low, until I recognised that I am who I am and that's what I am. I have my faults like everyone else, but I have honed my strengths into feeling better about the person known as Dan Mega."

That's it, Dan. That's it. That's the key to life. That's the key to fully enjoying life and all that is around you. It's called self-belief. It is such a great blessing that sometimes we don't fully recognise its true worth. Dan, you are an enlightened man - and you deserve to be.

The greatest power lies within us. And there is only one person who can unlock it. We can. Ourselves. No one else can do it for us. That's how we glean the greatest power that life can offer us. And that's how we harness it. Through our acceptance of ourselves.

So why do I spend so much time advising other bloggers about their writing, about their photography, about the layout of their sites? And why, six days a week, do I direct people to great posts on other blogs? Because I believe we all blog not just to have people visiting our sites, but to actually make contact with others.

And because I believe blogging is a vital validation of life. Do you agree with me?