blogito, ergo sum
Sometime ago, commenting in someone’s blog to answer a question ‘why i blog?’, i wrote ‘i blog to exist’. Does that sound that I was making a joke? No way, Jose.
Of course I exist even when I do not blog. I have a physical body. People can see me, they can touch me. But existence is a relative thing. Your existence isn’t something that is always related to your material/physical being.
Let’s say you’re sitting somewhere in Bandung, dozing alone, doing nothing, on a cozy couch in your own living room, with nobody around you. Do you exist? Yes, you do for yourself, and possibly for some people who know you still exist in this earth. But for most people who never know you, never hear of your name, you never exist. Existence is relative.
Some might insist that physical/material existence is the most important thing. Yes and not. Just because I have seen your physical representative somewhere with my own eyes, and even perhaps have been even physically in contact — such as bumping each other on the street — it doesn’t mean that you really exist in my realm.
Existence of one physical being can be defined in relation to the physical connection between its materiality to others’ materiality. But that’s not the only way to exist. One who has no physical representation anymore — not in materiality — those who have died, for example, can continue to exist without fleshy representation. That’s how Shakespeare, van Gogh, John Lennon, Foucault, etc continue to exist in some people’s realms.
Let’s go back to my answer, “I blog to exist (in some people’s world)”. Yes, I do mean it. Definitely not in my parents’ world though the blog might eventually be continuing, prolonging, and strengthening the essence and the meaning of one’s existence (not in the case of my parents though as they don’t read blog). But for you, most readers here — who purely know me through my blog — I exist and only exist because I blog.
Once I exist in your realm, then I continue to exist, eternally. The essence of my existence might be changed in intensity or in its importance, but you can never erase me from your world, except if you did a selected memory removal like in the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Yes, too late! *grin*.
Blogito, ergo sum. I blog, therefore, I am.
14 Comments so far
Leave a comment
It’s so true Mer…I’ll never know you if there is no blog! So, it’s enlarging the world we know, and at the same time knowing more people with almost the same concern and attention.
mer: yes…. neither do i.
By Retty on 06.19.08 11:39 am
modified from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
you can erase somebody from your mind, but he/she stays in your heart - or, in this case, in your bookmark hehhehe…
mer: hehe, good modification!… but items from bookmark can be erased too, right?. yet, still, my existence wouldn’t be gone just because you delete my blog from your bookmark. once exists it continues to exist.
By peregrin on 06.19.08 2:10 pm
Make sense..
Hey mbak.. Why do you think some people who know each other virtually have the eagerness to meet off air?
Is it to make them ‘more exist’?
coz I just did it with Jogja bloggers community. and I think it does make them ‘more exist’ in my realm.
mer: people like to put meaning on relationship. physical encounter strengthen the relationship and possibly increase the meaning on the relationship between two or more persons who ‘exist’. meaning builds on the essence of an existence. existence precedes essence. Jogja bloggers didn’t meet-up to prove the existence (because it’s already there), but they wanted to build more meaning — searching for essence.
By dina on 06.19.08 10:42 pm
There are people who decided to quit after several years of blogging. Does it mean that they no longer want to be “exist”?
And yes, indeed… you’re exist in my world, teh Mer. And please keep blogging.
mer: it’s not about ‘wanting’ to exist. when they blog, they have no choice but exist to the readers. when they quit, they quit for different reasons, but one thing they have no power, they cannot stop to exist — because they have had already existed, no matter what. people (readers) have known they exist. p.s. i am glad i exist in your world, yours in mine, too
By ichi on 06.20.08 5:00 am
how true. even for some people, after you blog [for the first time], you’re not quite ‘there’ yet. you don’t have readers yet. therefor you comment on other’s blogs. even just a slight’hey… nice blog’. so the next line would be: “i comment, to exist”.
mer: haha, smart girl… your next line is so true too
By Diny on 06.20.08 7:43 am
for Someone (special
, … Blogging Never Stops… 
Obsession, Compassion, Addiction, Distraction or Reflection perhaps ……………….Meditation?
mer: i am a story teller who share narratives thru writing, sketches, music. so, could be all, each, and every “ion” you typed… or none
By nemo on 06.20.08 12:40 pm
What a deep thought. I never realized the word existence is so meaningful.
When I have time, I like blogwalking to shop around for some new friends. I usually lurk at some of the entries for sometime. If I’m interested, I will leave comments.
The first time I read your blog, I thought gosh this Merlyna is a genius! Later when I found your other blogs and see how funny and down to earth you actually are, I embraced myself to leave you a comment. I’m glad I did!
mer: ooooh, how glad I am that you found me down to earth (and funny! :D). Thank you so much for existing in my world and for letting me exist in yours.
By santi on 06.21.08 3:13 am
With your number of existences you probably need to blog day and night (ah, here I managed to smuggle another title of a song from the Great American Songbook into the text).
(In a pathetic attempt to level with you I would suggest that blogging also may be interpreted as an expression of the ‘homo ludens’ - blogging is playing.)
mer: night and day…. you are the one (who’s faithfully commenting, :D). bravo for your attempt… of course blogging is playing therefore it’s important! ludentia est vitae essentia
By colson on 06.22.08 1:02 am
I believe blog is only one of media to show that you are exist at certain circumstances. This circumstances are determined by the blog owners based on their expectation from the blog. For example: a person who want to be remembered as a person only write about himself, while another who wants to be remembered for his professional competencies only write about those things. How do you think?
mer: you’re right, blog is just one of some “media” to exist. van Gogh continues to exist through his paintings (and his expressionism), Marx through his ideology, etc. Existence, however, is binary. You do or you don’t. The quality, the essence, the meaning imbued in an existence is another matter. “What and how you’re remembered” doesn’t define your existence, they are inscribed in existence…. sometimes you can navigate/direct them, sometimes you don’t.
By qq on 06.22.08 10:32 pm
The world is flat actually…
While you googling, you are every where not only in your blog. You are exist every where every time.
And I remember well, actually I’d “knew” you since 2001 in a mailing list group. Then like Diny said above: I comment to exist… to you
mer: of course each and every individual do exist, in time and space. i was talking more about existence as an entity that doesn’t always depend on materiality/physical being. and of course blogging is not the only media — i used the examples of people who didn’t blog (Shakespeare, van Gogh, etc). when i am goggling — it is not about ‘being’ it’s about ‘doing’. and it doesn’t entail existence — except if someone else knew that you are there to google. doing is the justification of existence. one knows you exist not because you are doing something but because the evidence of your existence is revealed to that person (through blog, through writing in the mailing list, through comments, etc etc). and the world is not flat. there’s unequal distribution of opportunities. it’s a wavy hilly world, after all :p p.s. many thanks for revealing yourself to me
you knew me from beasiswa, right?
By Yoga on 06.23.08 5:00 am
once i disconnect my self from one thing, i feel stronger connection to another thing. when i disconnect my self from the crowd, i feel stronger connection to quietness.
the more i exist to others, the less i exist to my self. the less i speak with others, the more contemplation i do with my self.
i am in the state of needing more existence of my self to my self for my self.
my relationship with bloggers had been there for only 4 years, but the relationship with my self, i have had for 27 years. and this is the one i should maintain, first and foremost.
i quit writing blog, therefore i am.
mer: i think you’re right. one needs to connect with her/himself more than to others in order to be more connected to life. so, i applaud you for stop blogging. and agree, yes, that relationship with the self is the most important thing.
here, you’re talking more about ‘essence’ instead of ‘existence’. existence is binary. you do or you don’t. that day we knew each other from blogging, that day i knew you exist and you’d continue to exist. but the essence and the meaning of your existence, that’s defined by you and your relationship with yourself (and with others). and i agree, there’s time (many time) you build more meaning by just quit talking, stop speaking, just contemplate.
By the one who quit writing blog after some years on 06.23.08 6:16 pm
i like it mer.. i blog to exist.. (not because i am a narcist.. toch?)
By aaqq on 06.28.08 3:40 am
You’re welcome, yup! I knew you from beasiswa
By Yoga on 07.02.08 7:19 pm
Mbak Mer, I realize that blogging is one way to actualize my self. I wish that by blogging I will be exist. That is why I also ask and teach my friends to start blogging.
Let’s spread the blog virus! http://www.masboi.com/?p=36
By masboi on 07.13.08 2:21 pm
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>