Purgatory of Blogging

by

Fegefeuer des Bloggens

Tranquility embraced us. We were captured by the mighty spirit of the place. Venerable ruins seemed to exhale this tranquility that the monks were seeking to concentrate on the essential.
We entered Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire’s magnificent monastery. Monks started to create a place for contemplation here in the 12th c which lasted until the dissolution. The monks disappeared but their spirit shaping the genius loci couldn’t be destroyed. We were spellbound.

Tiefe Ruhe umfing uns. Mächtig wirkte der Geist des Ortes. Ehrwürdige Ruinen schienen diese Ruhe auszuatmen, eine Ruhe, die die Mönche suchten, um sich auf das Wesentliche zu besinnen.
Entspannt und guter Laune betraten wir Fountains Abbey, die großartige Klosteranlage in Yorkshire. Hier hatten im 12. Jh. Mönche begonnen, sich einen Raum der Kontemplation zu schaffen, der bis ins 16. Jh. bestand, als die Klöster aufgelöst wurden. Die Gemeinschaft verschwand, aber ihr Geist und der genius loci konnten nicht zerstört werden. Sie berühren uns noch heute.

For their own salvation the Cistercian monks got away from the restless world. Actually, Dina and our Master did the same during our holidays. No blogging, just charging the own batteries, no fooling around in the net. Now they were drawn to this place, well, we helped with our fairy magic.

Um ihres Seelenheils Willen koppelten sich zisterziensische Mönche von der unruhigen Außenwelt weitgehend ab und recht besehen, taten Dina und Masterchen nichts Anderes, indem sie sich in den Ferien vom Bloggen und dem Internet fernhielten. Nun wurden sie, nicht ohne unseren Zauber, von diesem Ort angezogen.

Tranquility is based on contemplation and deceleration. “Tranquility produces quality“, reckons our Master. But, oh dear, blogging is the opposite. It produces unrest and acceleration and disturbs the peace because it’s based on quantity. WordPress and other providers push their users to get more followers and likes. Not only do we receive gratulations but also a virtual laurel wreath for the day we won most likes. The question “Do you want to get more traffic?” is a frequent issue asked constantly. We Fab Four of Cley are proud about our success we measure in numbers. Still we have our doubts. Does blogging makes sense? The monks worked for God’s blessing which is beyond reproach, but what do bloggers work for?

Ruhe hängt mit Besinnung und Entschleunigung zusammen. „Ruhe schafft Qualität“ meint Masterchen. Aber, oh weh, dieses Bloggen, ist vom Gegenteil geprägt. Es schafft Unruhe und Beschleunigung, da es auf Quantität angelegt ist. Wie drängen uns WordPress und andere Blogplattformen mehr Followers und Likes zu bekommen. Wir bekommen nebst Gratulation einen virtuellen Lorbeerkranz für den Tag, an dem wir die meisten Likes gewannen. Die Frage “Wollen Sie mehr Besucher bekommen?” ist nicht zu überhören. Stolz sind wir Fab Four auf unseren Erfolg, den wir zahlenmäßig messen. Zugleich leiden wir unter dem Zweifel, ob unsere Haltung, ja das Bloggen überhaupt, sinnvoll ist. Die Mönche  arbeiteten für den Gottessegen, der über jeden Zweifel erhaben ist, aber wofür arbeiten wir Blogger?

Even if we secretly dream about a monk’s vita contemplativa, we must be careful not to utterly idealise the Middle Ages. Without doubt, the Middle Ages knew doubt as well. “Parzival”, the most influential epic poem of this time that was written by Wolfram of Eschenbach about 50 years after the monks founded this monastery, starts with the following words:

Auch wenn wir insgeheim von einem mönchisch kontemplativen Leben träumen, müssen wir uns höllisch in acht nehmen, das Mittelalter nicht heillos zu idealisieren. Das Mittelalter kannte auch den Zweifel. So beginnt der “Parzival“, eines der einflussreichsten Werke dieser Epoche, das etwa 50 Jahre nach Gründung dieses Klosters von Wolfram von Eschenbach niedergeschrieben wurde, mit folgenden Worten:

Is swivel herzen nachgebur,
das mouz der sele werden sur

(doubt in your heart lets your soul go sour)
(wo Zweifel im Herzen lebt, wird es der Seele sauer)

Doubt is human, something that the monks considered the work of the devil. But it’s a challenge for us later born to use it productively to improve our being and doings. Anyone who stops improving has stopped being good, reads a well known quote.

Dieser Zweifel ist etwas Menschliches, etwas, das diese Mönche sicher als Werk des Teufels betrachtet hätten. Er mag für uns Nachgeborenen die Herausforderung darstellen, ihn produktiv zur Verbesserung unseres Seins und Tuns zu nutzen. Heißt es nicht, wenn wir aufhören uns zu verbessern, hören wir auf, gut zu sein.

Our question why someone became a monk led us to the question why do we blog. For the monk it was inherent motivation bringing him satisfaction – at least the founder fathers of the monasteries like Benedictus de Nursia saw it like this. There were the medieval intellectuals, vividly described by Umberto Eco in “The Name of the Rose“, who could devote themselves to their studies without the merciless pressure of time, while the laybrothers and peasants had to work hard from morning to night.

Unsere Frage, warum man eigentlich Mönch wurde, führte uns sogleich zu der Frage, warum bloggen wir. Für die Mönche war es die inhärente Motivation ihrer Arbeit, die ihnen Befriedigung brachte, zumindest sahen es so die Klostergründer wie der heilige Benedikt von Nursia. Es waren die mittelalterlichen Intellektuellen, die Umberto Eco anschaulich in „Der Name der Rose“ beschreibt, die im Kloster ohne unbarmherzigen Zeitdruck sich ihren Studien widmeten, während die Laienbrüder und abhängigen Bauern freilich hart arbeiteten.

An idealising resonance of this time is Hermann Hesses’s “The Glass Bead Game” describing a fictional monasterial province (Bildungsprovinz) in which quality is superior to quantity. Our dear Master as Master Ludi and Dina would love to blog in this way; blogging for the interest in the topic only in this haven of tranquility and philosophical calm, far from the world’s turmoil. But isn’t this escapism? Indeed, it was in the Middle Ages, but doesn’t this apply for blogging as well? Isn’t blogging a withdrawal from reality?

All das findet seinen idealisierenden Nachklang in Hermann Hesses Roman „Das Glasperlenspiel“, der eine mönchische Bildungsprovinz beschreibt, in der die Qualität über die Quantität gestellt wurde. So würden Masterchen als Master Ludi und Dinalein auch gerne bloggen, eben Bloggen um des Themas Willen in philosophischer Ruhe, abgekoppelt vom Weltengetümmel wie die Mönche, die dieses Kloster einst belebten. Ist das nicht Weltflucht? Klar, war es das bei den Mönchen und trifft das nicht auch bei uns Bloggern zu? Ist Bloggen nicht ein Rückzug, eine Flucht aus nerviger Realität?

Dark doubts arise questioning the value of our blogging. Is it the deep interest in the topic like it was for privileged monks? Bye, bye meaningless sentences and senseless comments which are so easily written in a hurry. It heals our soul if the epistemological interest has priority. Whereas blogging for recognition lets our soul turn sour. But what does make our soul turn sour? We suppose it’s the unrest and acceleration, which is always allied with sickening quantity.

Dunkle seelenversauernde Zweifel steigen mit der Frage auf, was denn der Nutzen unseres Bloggens ist. Es mag wie bei den privilegierten Mönchen das Interesse an der Sache sein. Also Adé inhaltslose Texte und Kommentare, die einem so leicht wie schnell von der Tastatur springen. Steht das Erkenntnisinteresse im Vordergrund, freut sich die Seele. Bloggen wir jedoch um unserer Anerkennung Willen, wird uns unsere Seele sauer. Was macht denn die Seele so sauer? Wir meinen, es ist die Unruhe, die stets ein Genosse krankheitserzeugender Quantität ist.

“Quality arises from tranquility, quantity produces unrest“, summarises our dear Master, “and unrest is unholy” he finishes.

„Qualität entsteht aus der Ruhe, Quantität zeugt Unruhe“ fasst Masterchen unsere Gedanken zusammen “und diese Unruhe ist unselig” setzt er abschließend hinzu.

Despite noble insights on this holy grounds we ask ourselves if, in the end, we are blogging for recognition. A recognition we need that desperately that we can’t stop blogging? The monks hoped for salvation. We hope, not at all unsuccessfully, for recognition in terms of lots of traffic, likes and followers for which we pay with our soul as we lost what really matters. Of course, you surely know, one has to pay the devil with one’s soul. Or do you hope in naive delusion that you, like Doctor Faust, will get away.

Trotz hehrer Einsichten am heiligen Ort fragen wir uns, ob wir nicht letztlich um der Anerkennung Willen, nach der wir so gieren, emsig vor uns hin bloggen. Hoffte der damalige Mönch auf das Seelenheil für seine Arbeit, so hoffen wir, keineswegs unbegründet, auf Anerkennung in Form vieler Likes, Kommentare und Follower für unsere Leistung, wobei wir mit unserem Seelenheil bezahlen, da wir uns mehr und mehr vom Wesentlichen entfernen. Klar doch, den Teufel bezahlt man stets mit seiner Seele,  das müsste sich doch rumgesprochen haben. Oder hofft ihr im naiven Wahn, wie Doktor Faust mit einem blauen Auge davonzukommen?

What is the profit of blogging? Is it social recognition? We can’t even hope for a merciful God on cloud nine which doesn’t exist even for the most bustling blogger. Actually we should stop blogging for recognition, this is vanity, superbia, one of the deadly sins, that every monk tried to avoid as he was afraid of ending up in the purgatory forever. Shouldn’t we fear that either? Well the purgatory isn’t in anymore, we call it stress, frustration and the soul turning sour which is ending in Burn Out.

Was haben wir vom Bloggen? Nichts außer sozialer Anerkennung? Wir können nicht einmal auf einen Himmel mit gnädigen Gott hoffen, da es den selbst für eifrigste Blogger nicht gibt. Eigentlich sollten wir aufhören, uns von der Anerkennung anderer abhängig zu machen, das ist Eitelkeit, superbia, eine der Todsünden, vor denen sich jeder Mönch hütete, da er nicht brennend im Fegefeuer enden wollte. Sollten wir uns nicht ebenfalls davor hüten? Das Fegefeuer ist aus der Mode gekommen, wir sprechen heute von Hetze, Unzufriedenheit und die oben zitierte saure Seele, die im Burn Out endet.

Warm greetings, not without doubts preying on our souls
Mit herzlichen Grüßen nicht ohne Zweifel im Herzen
Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma 👭 Bookfayries next the Sea

 

© Text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

402 thoughts

    • Dear Tanja
      thanks for your interesting idea. We suppose that is indeed one side of the coin the other is that face-to-face contact is getting less and less important for many users of social media. But one could argue as well that our reality becomes more and more virtual, so that the “real reality” becomes the virtual one.
      We wish you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 5 people

  3. Great photos and write up. Ruins are so much fun to photograph. We have ruins of old Spanish missions from the 17th Century around New Mexico, USA. We still have a few 17th Century churches that are still in use.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Timothy
      thank you very much for liking Dina’s photography.
      In Britain a lot of churches got destroyed, at least partly, during the dissolution under Henry VIII and the Puritans with their iconoclasm.
      We saw some of these churches, mostly idyllic ruins, during our visit to Mexico.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Well, just today I got the “most likes in a day” notice, as well as “boom! a spike in traffic” shortly thereafter. And then now this post. Couldn’t I just enjoy the jubilation for 24 hours before the monks came a-calling?

    Just had the discussion the other day in a writing group (writers talking to other writers about writing) about there being two types of writing: journal writing and not-journal writing. Journal writing is meant just for oneself. If no one reads it, that’s okay. If someone does, who cares what they think. All other writing has the (infamous) Other from the moment the writing begins. Whether one posts on the blog or not, that Reader is there, staring over the shoulder as one writes. So one just as well post it, I suppose (the doubt qualifier).

    I frequently speak fondly of the pre-internet days when some friends and me wrote a Zine. If we got three people who we didn’t know to check it out (who knows how much of it they actually read) we were absolutely besides ourselves. For myself, I kind of placed 20 visitors per post as what I am happy with. More than that, icing on the cake. Others may want more traffic, which is cool. But I write for pleasure, when I can keep that Other from being too critical as I write, and having 15 or 20 people read my work with their full attention I am as happy as monk tilling in the garden with God looking over his shoulder.

    Liked by 9 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much for you great commentary.
      You know, our dear Master was a professional writer writing for international publishers, TV and film. He may has got a kind of professional deformation. You seem to be a writer as well and so you know that the international sales of every book you publish have to be higher than of the book you published before. That means editors, agents, publishers always make you never forget that you write for being read by many. But it’s not only this, we suppose everybody who writes wants to be read. These people who don’t agree are not aware of it. Especially in the social media you write for being read, otherwise you wouldn’t go public. We are now quite new on Instagram. What a shock that is, it’s all about followers and much faster than blogging – the classic quantity above quality.
      We are aware that we write our posts and choose our pictures reflecting what our readers want. That’s not only professional but also makes our texts and pictures better. Writing without the reflecting the reader is unprofessional and usually lacks style and a inherent tension.
      We suppose it’s all a matter of the dose – like Paracelsus said in the late Middle Ages. If one doesn’t write for being read then one shouldn’t publish and bother others with it. If one publishes, it doesn’t matter if it’s a book, social media or an article, it’s only fair to have the reader in your mind.
      Anyway, these are just some ideas you inspired us to think.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 6 people

  7. Well written and beautiful shots Hanne. After a time blogging one does question the why’s. But I think there does come a time when we need to slow down, and get back into the real world, perhaps to blog a little less so we have time for the most important things in our lives.

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Karen,
      thank you very much for your kind words.
      We slowed down from blogging every week to blogging every fortnight and that was quite a relief. We have/had some experience with Instagram, in comparison to blogging this is “a devilish medium” because it’s extremely fast. People publish faster than they think and it’s only about followers. Blogposts usually have a much higher quality and are not that narcissistic.
      We love blogging but we try to blog less but improve quality as much as we can. That’s satisfying – at least for us.
      Thanks again and have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi,
      thanks for commenting.
      We doubt it that in the social media it is up to you how and why you use them. This seems to us a big illusion. The minute you let yourself in you are part of the system. Jaron Lanier, software specialist at Microsoft and scientist, shows very clearly in his two books “Who Owns The Future” and “You Are Not A Gadget” as well as Eric Davis in “Techgnosis” before him, the manipulative power of social media you can’t escape the minute you let yourself in. Exactly the illusion that it is all up to one self is part of the whole set up. That is not against computers at all but for reflecting how they are used and how software, software for social media f.e., is designed.
      We wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  9. “Was haben wir vom Bloggen? Nichts außer sozialer Anerkennung? Wir können nicht einmal auf einen Himmel mit gnädigen Gott hoffen, da es den selbst für eifrigste Blogger nicht gibt. Eigentlich sollten wir aufhören, uns von der Anerkennung anderer abhängig zu machen, das ist Eitelkeit, superbia, eine der Todsünden, vor denen sich jeder Mönch hütete, da er nicht brennend im Fegefeuer enden wollte. Sollten wir uns nicht ebenfalls davor hüten? Das Fegefeuer ist aus der Mode gekommen, wir sprechen heute von Hetze, Unzufriedenheit und die oben zitierte saure Seele, die im Burn Out endet.”

    Man kann als Blogger vorübergehend oder dauerhaft die Möglichkeit zu liken und/oder zu kommentieren ausschalten. Sollte denn beim Blogger ein Gefühl grauenhafter Leere eintreten, kann er darüber meditieren, das Bloggen ganz einzustellen oder gleich in ein Kloster zu gehen. Wer will schon die Todsünde der Eitelkeit begehen?

    Liked by 9 people

    Reply

    • Dear Nitya
      GREAT! We real love your commentary 🙂 🙂 Thanks a lot.
      Ach ja, ich kann ja Deutsch schreiben. Wir lieben deinen augenzwinkernden Kommentar. Über die immanente Gewalt der Struktur sozialer Media schrieben wir bereits in den Kommentaren hierüber.
      Dann halte dich fein fern vom Jahrmarkt der Eitelkeiten und genieße das Wochenende
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 4 people

    • Lieber Klausbernd,

      ich werde deinem Rat nur zur Hälfte befolgen und den Jahrmerkt der Eitelkeiten ebenso genießen wie dieses Wochenende. Vielleicht gelingt es dir ja auch, die Idee der Tod-Sünde mit einem Augenzwinkern zu bedenken und sie so zu einer ziemlich lässlichen werden zu lassen und dich ansonsten ebenfalls an diesem wundervollen Wochenende zu erfreuen.

      Liked by 3 people

  10. We blog to find ourselves dear sir, in our fears of rejection to be accepted by the many, when in truth we should be accepting ourselves. Only then will the devil pack his bags and holiday elsewhere 😀
    Great pictures camera lady, their energy is captured beautifully…I could nearly fall into prayer with the monk in the bottom picture…he has such serenity. I think his blogging would come from an interesting heart 😀

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

    • Dear Mark,
      of course you know who this monk is?!
      We like your commentary and the idea to analyze our fear of being rejected as a positive way to use social media.
      Thank for liking Dina’s pictures. We tried very hard that text and pictures compliment each other.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 3 people

  12. Beautiful photographs Hanne, I’m sure I recognise that monk. 🙂
    I guess we all blog for our own reasons. The relentless pursuit of likes, I’ll like you if you like me etc etc leads to far too many blogs being followed and setting oneself on a treadmill to nowhere. Not a great place to be. I would definitely agree that quality has to come before quantity. Have a fabulous weekend the Fab Four of Cley. Best wishes from Chris and myself 🙂 x

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Chris and Adrian
      yeah, this monk … far from being enlightened.
      Thank you very much for your commentary we fully agree with.
      We wish you a wonderful weekend.
      Are back from the island?
      Warm greeting from the sea
      The Fab Four of Cley xxx

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi Hanne and Klausbernd,
      We will be back from Fuerteventura on the 7th October. It was 26 degrees today and we felt cold as it’s been much much warmer. Up to 35. I think we will have a big shock when we arrive home.
      We will be in the sun this weekend. We very much hope the same for you.
      🙂 xxx

      Liked by 4 people

    • Oh dear, it’s cold and rainy here today. But we don’t mind having to answer those interesting and sometimes challenging comments.
      Don’t get sun burned, enjoy your last week there
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Lieber Klausbernd (ich nehme an, der Text entspringt deiner Hand),
    der Zweifel bringt uns weiter, lässt uns neue Lösungen finden. Ich empfinde ihn als befreiend, als Diskussion mit mir selber.
    Descartes schreibt in seiner ersten Meditatione (17-19):
    “Deshalb habe ich heute die Gelegenheit ergriffen und den Geist von allen Alltagspflichten freigemacht, habe alle Termine abgesagt, ziehe mich einsam zurück, und werde mich endlich ernsthaft und frei diesem allgemeinen Umsturz meiner Meinungen widmen. Dafür wird es indessen nicht notwendig sein, zu zeigen, dass meine Meinungen allesamt falsch sind, denn das könnte ich wohl auch niemals erreichen; sondern weil schon allein die Vernunft dazu rät, dass den nicht völlig Sicheren und Unzweifelhaften die Zustimmung nicht weniger gründlich entzogen werden muss als dem offenbar Falschen, wird es schon ausreichen, alles zurückzuweisen, woran ich auch nur irgendeinen Grund zum Zweifeln antreffe.”.
    Liebe Hanne, du entwickelst deine Fotos immer weiter. Dein Fokus liegt – so habe ich das Empfinden – auf den Fotos und Klausbernds Fokos – so denke ich – liegt auf gute Diskussionen. Ihr bekommt sehr viele Kommentare. Vielleicht solltet ihr euch aufteilen, Hanne, du beantwortest die Kommentare bezüglich deiner Fotos und du Klausbernd beantwortest die Diskussionskommentare.
    Von den Zahlen habe ich mich lange frei gemacht. Die sind nicht abhängig von den Besuchern sondern abhängig von den Algorithmen der Suchmaschinen. Und was sagen sie denn aus? Diese Zahlen?
    Vielleicht ist es wirklich gut, euch neu zu finden, eure Blogpraktik anzuweifeln, euch zu überlegen, was ihr tun würdet, wenn ihr neu Kontakte im Internet knüpfen wolltet. Sind eure Ziele wirklich die “Klicks”?
    Ich hoffe, ich bin euch nicht zu nahe getreten,
    liebe Grüße von Susanne

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Susanne,
      habe zunächst einmal recht herzlichen Dank für das Descartes Zitat und noch mehr Dank für deinen Impuls, unsere Blogpraxis neu zu reflektieren.
      Ich möchte hierzu schreiben, warum ich so mit Hanne-Dina zusammen blogge. Durch das Bloggen habe ich meine Liebe zum Kurztext gefunden und nicht nur das, ich bin ja in dem Alter, in dem man sein Wissen weitergeben sollte. Es bringt mich auch dazu, meine Gedanken zu ordnen, denn wenn ich etwas niederschreibe, verlangt das nach Struktur. Überspitzt gesagt, denke ich schreibend, und dieses Denken und dann die Rückmeldungen hält mich geistig rege, was ich liebe und was zugleich ein gutes Mittel gegen die Trägheit ist. Zugleich interessiert mich schon seit meinem Studium die Verbindung von verbalen und ikonographischen Ausdruck wie in der mittelalterlichen Buchmalerei. Das ist aber nur die eine Seite. Auf der anderen Seite bin ich immer wieder drauf und dran, das Bloggen aufzugeben. Was mich dabei hält, ist der intellektuelle Austausch, der mir hier auf dem Dorf teilweise fehlt. Ich kompensiere das mit Bloggen.
      Wenn es auch in diesem Blogtext anders erscheinen mag, finde ich das Achten auf die Klicks nicht unwesentlich. Als Autor habe ich nicht ohne Widerstände gelernt, dass die Reflexion des Rezipienten, eben in diesem Fall des Lesers, einen Text besser macht. Gerade bei diesem Text habe ich sehr auf den Stil geachtet – mit Hanne-Dinas Hilfe, die als meine Lektorin fungiert.
      Ich finde, dass der Zeitgeist dazu neigt, uns mit Bildern zu überschwemmen. Um das Bild nicht ins Belanglose abdriften zu lassen, wie man es in sozialen Medien wie Instagram, Facebook etc. beobachten kann, bedarf es des Textes. Das erkannten ja bereits frühe Fotografen wie WeeGee. So experimentieren wir mit der Verbindung von Wort und Bild. Seitdem ich ab und an bei Instagram aktiv bin, bin ich erschrocken, wie belanglos das Bild in den sozialen Medien geworden ist. Schon allein wie viele Sonnenuntergänge einen erschlagen, wie viele künstliche Lichtstrahlen das Auge beleidigen. Bis auf wenige Ausnahmen gleichen sich die Bilder und die Benutzung neuer Software wird mit Kreativität verwechselt. Dem wollen wir etwas entgegensetzen. Nicht dogmatisch, sondern als Vorschlag.
      Bei Texten ist es ja nicht anders. Mich beschleicht das Gefühl, dass in den meisten sozialen Medien mit inhaltlosen Textbausteinen kommuniziert wird. Das liegt natürlich auch daran, dass das Zeitalter der Beschleunigung sich natürlich auch in den sozialen Medien widerspiegelt.
      Uns kommt es nicht unbedingt darauf an, neue Besucher zu gewinnen, sondern auszuprobieren, wie unsere Verbindungen von Bild und Wort ankommen. Wie reagieren unsere Besucher darauf?
      Und nicht zuletzt hast du, liebe Susanne, uns dazu gebracht, das Bloggen auch als unser Archiv zu sehen.
      Jetzt wünsche ich dir ein wunderschönes Wochenende.
      Mit lieben Grüßen
      Klausbernd
      und der Rest von den Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 6 people

    • Lieber Klausbernd, liebe Hanne,
      herzlichen Dank für deine lange und ausführliche Antwort, Klausbernd, aus der ich lese, wie wichtig für dich und dich Hanne das Bloggen ist. So stellt sich doch eigentlich nicht die Frage nach dem Aufhören 😉 Vielleicht möchtest du uns (deine Leser) auch mit der Frage provozieren. Ich denke, für euch Klausberd und Hanne gehört das Bloggen zu eurem Leben dazu, die Diskussion um die Artikel und Fotos und deine Hannes ständige Weiterentwicklung der Fotografie.
      Ich denke ebenso, dass die sozialen Medien für die Beschleunigung unseres Lebens verantwortlich sind, es ist das Zeitalter der kurzen Wege, der elektronischen (schnellen) Komunikation.
      In diesem Sinne wünsche ich euch einen schönen Tag, Susanne
      I

      Like

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Susanne,
      und was für ein schöner Herbstmorgen, die Sonne scheint, Wildgänse fliegen schreien über das Haus und die Blätter der Apfelbäume im Garten haben sich leuchtend gelb verfärbt.
      Ja, du hast schon recht, das Bloggen gehört zu Dina und meinem Leben, wenn ich auch bisweilen damit hadere. Unter Paartherapeuten kursiert die Theorie, dass ein Paar ein Drittes benötigt, um langfristig glücklich zu sein. Das sind oft Kinder oder auch bisweilen ein Geschäft und bei uns ist es das Bloggen. Es ist, was wir gerne zusammen machen, sozusagen unser Kind – und wohl pflegeleichter als ein Kind 😉 😉
      Ich wünsche dir einen wunderbaren Feiertag.
      Mit lieben Grüßen aus dem sonnigen Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Danke, lieber Klausbernd, ich sitze gerade an meinem Galerietisch, sortiere und rahme Bilder und werde gleich eine Preisliste von der Auswahl für die Ausstellung Querbrüche erstellen. Nächstes Wochenende findet dann das Ausstellungsevent statt.
      Micha und ich funktionieren ähnlich mit dem Blog – Micha nimmt da eher Hannes Part ein. 😉
      So richtig pflegeleicht ist ein Blog nicht, aber da hast du recht, sicher pflegeleichter als ein Kind. Ein Kind birgt viele Überraschungen, auf die es zu reagieren gilt. Zur Zeit sind sowohl Michas als auch mein Sohn in Berlin. So sind wir voll ausgelastet.
      Liebe Grüße sendet euch lieben vier, Susanne

      Liked by 1 person

    • Ja, ja, liebe Susanne,
      wir haben da unsere höchst pflegeleichten Kinder 👭 Siri und Selma, und der Blog benötigt zwar immer Pflege, das ist jedoch gut machbar in unserer Situation. Wir haben qua Alters die Freiheit, nicht mehr ehrgeizig sein zu müssen. Obwohl diese Haltung tief verinnerlicht ist.
      Alles Gute für deine Ausstellung. Wir drücken dir fest die Daumen.
      Alles Gute, liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Kann man den Ergeiz denn so einfach abschalten, Klausbernd?
      Ich frage mich das in Bezug auf die Rente. Geht ein Künstler überhaupt in Rente?
      Du hast irgendwann mit den Lesereisen aufgehört, oder? War das dann für dich, wie in Rente gehen?
      Liebe Grüße von Susanne

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Susanne,
      ich habe nicht nur aufgegeben, auf Lesereise zu gehen und TV Auftritte zu machen, sondern auch längere Texte wie für Bücher zu schreiben. Ja, der Ehrgeiz, wie Brecht es so schön ausdrückte, “beneidenswert, wer frei davon”. Es war für mich zu Beginn der Pensionierung eine Übung in Disziplin, nicht mehr Vortragsangebote und Fernsehauftritte anzunehmen oder wieder längere Texte zu schreiben. Aber schnell bemerkte ich, dass das, was ich als meine Lebensaufgabe rationalisierte, stets mit Stress verbunden war, den ich mir nicht mehr antun musste. Jetzt bin ich sehr zufrieden damit, nur kleine Texte fürs Bloggen zu schreiben, mich mit der digitalen Aufnahme unserer Büchersammlung zu beschäftigen und mich um Haus und Hof zu kümmern. Ich war erstaunt, wie einfach das Leben sein kann.
      Ich erfreue mich daran, so privilegiert zu sein, nichts mehr für den Markt schaffen zu müssen und mich voll meinen Hobby, dem Lesen und Büchersammeln, hinzugeben oder auch gar nichts “Produktives” zu tun.
      Marx spricht im “Kapital” von der Selbstausbeutung, die damit rationalisiert wird, dass man Großes schafft und die von der Gesellschaft beklatscht wird. Mir scheint es, zumindest für mich, dass es im späteren Leben notwendig ist, sich davon zu befreien. So ist es möglich, mit einem Minimum an Druck glücklich und fröhlich zu leben.
      Ja, liebe Susanne, das sind so meine Gedanken und Erfahrungen nach 5 Jahren Privatisieren, das mir bestens bekommt.
      Eine wunderschöne Woche wünsche ich dir
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lieber Klausbernd,
      ich glaube, du hast den Kern des Problems “Rente für Künstler” erfasst. Es ist eine Übung in Disziplin, Angebote abzulehnen. Soweit bin ich noch nicht. Es ist wohl wie der Beginn einer Fastenwoche – es gehört Disziplin dazu und ein besonderes Gefühl für den Anfang.
      Ich habe eine grobe Vorstellung davon, wann ich mit meiner Rente beginnen möche, halte es aber zur Zeit noch für irreal, Angebote abzulehnen. Du hast mal gesagt, mit dem Alter schafft man es auch Nein zu Angeboten zu sagen. Mal schauen, wann ich das Alter erreiche. Immerhin habe ich schon die Bereitschaft dazu, irgendwann diesen Schritt zu gehen.
      Liebe Grüße von Susanne

      Like

    • Liebe Susanne
      don’t worry, man wächst da hinein. Genauso wie man in ein erfolgreiches Leben hineinwuchs, wächst man auch in ein Leben ohne Stress hinein und lernt mit Freuden NEIN! zu Angeboten zu sagen. Aber ehrlich gesagt, hat es bei mir etwa ein Jahr gedauert, bis ich ohne schlechtes Gewissen, Absagen erteilen konnte. Heute ist das kein Problem mehr.
      Man bekommt erstaunlich viel als Rentner angeboten, das sich großartig darstellt. Z.B. sollte ich Ehrenvorsitzer eines Think Tanks werden. Alles Quatsch, große Titel für nichts und wieder nichts. Ähnlich wie all diese Auszeichnungen, die meistens gar nichts aussagen. Man wird immun gegen so etwas, und so beginnt das beglückende Gefühl der Freiheit.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom sonnigen Meer
      Klausbernd
      auch liebe Grüße von Hanne und natürlich von Siri 🙂 und Selma 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Danke für die Lieben Grüße und Worte, die du / ihr mir hier sendet.
      Für die Menge an ehrenamtliche Tätigkeiten, die mir angetragen werden, müsste der Tag nicht nur 48 sondern eher 96 Stunden haben. Ich habe dort gelernt ohne schlechtes Gewissen nein zu sagen und auch immer darauf hinzuweisen, dass ich mich um meinen Vater kümmere. Andere ältere Menschen benötigen dafür Ehrenamtliche 😉 . Das wird dann groß anerkannt, wenn man sich aber um die eigenen Eltern kümmert, dann hat das einen anderen Stellenwert als ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit. Es hat immer den Beigeschmack von Pflicht und Last. Komisch, nicht wahr? Was hast du da für Erfahrungen gemacht, Hanne? Ich verbringe die Zeit bei meinem Vater gerne bei ihm. Es ist eine große Harmonie. Vielleicht blogge ich mal darüber….. Liebe Grüße von Susanne

      Liked by 1 person

    • Liebe Susanne
      ich meinte in meiner Antwort bezahlte Arbeiten zu denen man “genötigt” wird.
      An ehrenamtlichen Jobs kümmern sich Hanne-Dina und ich um die pre-loved Bücher, die in der Kirche und beim Dorffest verkauft werden. Das entspricht unserem Interesse als Büchersammler. Wir wollen hier auch einen Bücherschrank einrichten “books next the sea”.
      Über deine Frage betreffend ehrenamtlicher Arbeit und Pflege wird sicher Hanne-Dina etwas schreiben.
      Mach’s gut
      Klausbernd, Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma

      Like

  15. What beautiful photos, what a beautiful Abbey. Thank you for sharing this with us. It is great to show us these in your blog, it is not numbers or recognition, it is about sharing beauty, interesting things, meeting fellow bloggers, inspire people, helping people and having fun in the blogging world.

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

    • Dear Ute,
      great that you like Dina’s photography 🙂 🙂 Thank you!
      We like blogging is about sharing beauty and interesting things – and it is about discussing, isn’t it?! To exchange ideas and become aware of different standpoints.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Lady Fi
      but sometimes it’s questionable if these photos are worth sharing, are they of any interest for other people. Especially those selfies …
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Liebe Annette
      hier ist es auch plötzlich seit gestern herbstlich geworden. Wir finden das ganz gemütlich nach diesem feinen und langen Sommer.
      Es war ja auch die zweifelnde Frage an uns selber, was wir und warum wir es hier eigentlich tun. Wir haben da keineswegs die letztendliche Antwort. Wir halten innen und hören auf unsere Besucher.
      Mit lieben Grüßen und Wünschen für ein tolles Wochenende
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Intriguing, clever and amusing comparison between the motivation of monks and bloggers…possibly even inspired. I am sure the monastic life provided a refuge for some; there, they would find relative safety and security – once the Vikings had finished and provided they weren’t disturbed by other, later, marauders of one sort or another. Inside the privileged walls of the monastery, they would be fed and, within their own world, would find shelter and companionship, far away from the hurly-burly of reality. Other monks would have had other motivations, of course, possibly religious… Perhaps the monastic life was a reflection of society, in a way that blogging may be; we all have our different reasons for doing it, though of course most of us probably share a desire for more readers etc. There are nut-cases too – good grief, I may be one of them! Loved the shots – excellent, as always. Fountains is a tremendous place and has already been featured on ABAB. Because I crave readers, here is the link – http://bitaboutbritain.com/fountains-in-yorkshire/ 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Thanks for that link! 🙂 🙂 and thank you for your commentary.
      We absolutely agree that the monastic life was a reflection of the society as the social media are reflections of our society. In a society where competition and acceleration becomes more and more dominant this is, of course, shared by the social media, well, it’s inbuilt in their structure.
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  21. Heute schreibe ich auf Deutsch, Ihr Lieben Feenschwestern und die beiden Kontemplativen. (Wunderbare Bilder, magischer Ort, sympathische Kutte!🦋)
    Und Danke, ich habe wieder etwas bei Euch lernen dürfen.
    Bloggen lehrt, gibt Wissen spielerisch bildreich weiter, denn das ist Euer Anspruch, Ihr habt Freude daran. Auch die Klöster lehrten, heilten von Unwissenheit, indem sie in der Stille Bücher erschufen oder dafür sorgten, dass andere Weisheit weiter verbreitet werden konnte, indem sie sie kopierten. Bloggen verbindet und gibt etwas weiter. Es erfreut andere. Wichtig ist es zu erspüren wie viel Kontakt und Zeit zu investieren möglich ist ohne sich selbst zu schaden oder zu zwingen.
    Ich lerne mit Lust und spielerisch am leichtesten, am eindringlichsten. (So Let’s play…🤗)Darum lernen rechenschwache Kinder addieren während sie sich Bälle zuwerfen leichter, ja wie von selbst, während sie sich bewegen, lösen sie die Aufgaben und rechnen. Es ist schön, Euch als blogfreunde zu haben.
    Liebe Feengrüße✨🦋

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Fee,
      ja, man kann die Parallele zwischen Bloggen und dem Leben in den Klöstern sogar noch weiterführen: Dort wurden ja nicht nur Texte kopiert, sondern auch illuminiert. Die Verbindung zwischen Text und Bild war seit der Karolingischen Zeit sehr wichtig wie beim Bloggen heute. Unser Master schrieb weiter oben dazu in seiner längeren Antwort auf Susanne.
      Und nicht nur die anderen lernen, so selbstlos sind wir gar nicht, sondern ebenso wir.
      Lieben und feinsten Feenhauch und hochgemütliches Wochenende
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Seht Ihr, meine liebsten Buchfeen, lieber Klausbernd, nun hast Du es selbst geschrieben: es geht nämlich auch um Befruchtung von Geistern. Ist absolut artiger Kontext. Weiterentwicklung ist gefragt, wir lernen voneinander und auf deinen Vergleich mit der Illumination in Klöstern und der Kunst der Illustration habe ich nur zu gern gewartet. Wo werden Blogeinträge geschrieben? Zumeist im stillen Kämmerlein, zumeist sehr kontemplativ. Auch die Sache mit den Mögesternchen oder Klicks ist legitim. Wie viel Mehr Wert noch sind so kluge Worte, auch die kritischen. Worte, die sich gern Zeit nehmen wollen, dieses Ratgut. Von der Kunst der Fotografie verstehe ich zu wenig um sie würdigen zu können, doch liebe Beiträge, in denen Bild und Text miteinander verschmelzen. Ein Archiv schönster tiefsten Miteinanders kann so ein blog sein. Auch darum ist es m. E. lohnenswert. Und zuletzt? Eure blogfreunde…ich zappe mal zu meinen rüber, den Getreuen, die mir Zweifel und schöpferische Pausen zugestehen.
      Das nur als ‘virtuell’ zu bezeichnen, wäre mir zu wenig. Sie sind mir Freunde im Geiste.
      Einen sehr lieben Gruß zu Dina und Dir und natürlich…zu Siri und Selma, diesen schlauen Zauberfeen von einer ganz gemeingewöhnlichen Teuto-Fee aus dem Fernreisetraumziel Ostwestfalen-Lippe✨🦋

      Liked by 2 people

  22. A very thoughtful honest post that really makes us question what we are doing by Blogging. I think it is a natural feeling to be ‘liked’ and I guess that through blogging we hope to be liked rather than disliked. I blog because I want to share my photography and because after fifty years of being a photographer I believe I have something to say and contribute. There is another important aspect to blogging, and that is communication. For our creativity to remain active and to grow we need to see the work of other artists. Artists can never thrive in a vacuum. That’s why we visit exhibitions. By being on the ‘net’ every single day I am exposed to a gallery of new images from the Blogs I follow. The exhibition comes to me. The images are not all good, but there is rarely a day when I am not inspired by something that I see. And it’s not just the images, it is the writing too. Thanks for raising this important topic.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much for your comment we absolutely agree with.
      The basis of blogging is communication and the impulses we get communicating – maybe there isn’t such a big difference if it’s face-to-face or virtual. The exchange, as you write, matters.
      Wishing you an easy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  23. Katharina, die Tochter des Bansah, König von Ghana, zaubert mir gerade eine wunderschöne neue Webseite…die Alte besteht seit 2005 und ich habe sie einfach kaum beachtet…
    Sie schickte mir das neue Model und ich entdeckte: ich kann selbst ganz viele Likes geben, ich könnte mir gleich mal 100e von Likes geben, hey!
    Looks Cool!
    Bevor ich heute den Laptop einschaltete, sah ich den KB als Mönch vor mir, ich schwöre!
    Außerdem dachte ich, dass ich den Scheiß mit dem “du sollst nicht” jetzt mal umformulieren will…
    1. Du darfst dich freuen 2. Du darfst glücklich sein 3. Du darfst singen, tanzen, lachen, weinen, traurig und wütend sein 4. Wenn du Angst hast, atme durch und werde ruhig 5. Du darfst alles genießen, was dir Freude bereitet 6. Du darfst das Leben lieben 7. Du darfst die Erde und alle ihre Bewohner in deinem Herzen ehren und achten 8. Du darfst alles sein 9. Du darfst so viele Freunde haben, wie du willst 10. Du darfst bloggen, wenn es mehr Freude als Belastung ist
    more to come…

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Naja, liebe Pia,
      da wollen wir doch nicht in platte New-Age Philosophie zurückfallen. Dies scheint uns doch zu naiv. Ein wenig Reflexion zumindest ist doch wie das Salz in der Suppe. Wir sind gespannt, was das noch kommt!
      Schönes Wochenende
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Gespräch mit Schüler L.: P: Was meinst du, warum sind wir hier? L: Um lieben zu lernen…P: Du willst lieben lernen?! (L ist der liebevollste wundervollste Junge, den ich kenne…) L weint und kann sich überhaupt nicht mehr beruhigen..
      Gespräch mit Schülerin L.: L: Meine Therapeutin will mich in eine Klinik stecken, sie meint ich hätte Größenwahn..P: Du hast vielleicht in ihrem beschränkten Bewusstsein Größenwahn.. L. schenkt P ein Buch: Quanten Philosophie und Spiritualität, ein Zettelchen auf Seite 21, Zitate von Gödel, Schmiede, Heisenberg, Ludwig, Görnitz….L: Das musst du unbedingt mal lesen….
      Ich bin heute etwas matt, erschöpft…jetzt ist ja plötzlich die Fleming verstorben auf der Couch…
      Andere Frage, meint Ihr, dass besondere Textilien wirklich vor schädlichem Elektrosmog und Handstrahlen schützen können?

      Verbittern sollte man nicht, Wermut ist so bitter, dass man wieder lachen muss, dass es so etwas Bitteres überhaupt gibt…
      Ich wünsche ein schönes Wochenende allerseits, manche hier müssten erst mal nach vorne ins New Age fallen (aber ich kenne mich damit nicht aus…)

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Pia,
      das ist Quatsch mit Textilien oder was auch immer gegen Elektrosmog. Wir leben in einer Welt, in der Elektrosmog normal ist und im Sinne der Evolution müssen und können wir uns daran anpassen. Außerdem werden die Auswirkungen fürchterlich übertrieben meistens von Leuten, die entweder an milder Form von Hysterie leiden oder die ein Halbwissen haben. Wir wollen doch nicht das Rad der Geschichte zurückdrehen und wie im Mittelalter leben. Ins New Age mit all seinen Mythen und den vielen Spinnereien fällt man m.E. heillos zurück. Es war notwendig, aber genauso ist es notwendig, es zu überwinden und seine Begrenzungen, Irrungen und Wirrrungen zu sehen.
      Du bist ja wirklich atemberaubend off-topic.
      Also mach’s gut und glaub nicht allen Quatsch, den Leuten so verzapfen.
      Liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Sitze gerade in einer mittelschlimmen Hölle gefangen…aber ich kämpfe mich frei! Im Moment fliegt mein Geist bissel zu viel…drückt sich vor der Verantwortung.
      Wenn ich jetzt endlich mal wieder meine alten Hildegard CDs durchgehört habe (und in den höchsten Tönen mitgezwitschert), geht es mir bestimmt besser.
      Vielleicht kommt man sogar mit zwei blauen Augen davon?!
      ….schluss jetzt, der Blogartikel ist genau meine Wellenlänge, aber es fehlen die Worte…
      Ich finde, ihr habt wieder sensationelles Teamwork geschaffen!!! Danke dafür!!!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Pia
      wie sagt so schön Wittgenstein: “wovon man nicht reden kann, darüber muß man schweigen” – ich glaube, das ist der letzte Satz seines “Tractatus logico-philosophicus”
      Liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  24. A really perfect thought you captured here – blogging and tranquillity are extreme opposites! I do feel much the same way, but maybe because I see blogging as a type of responsibility. I rarely follow any more blogs any more because I just can’t cope with any more traffic, and viewing posts, making comments, and replying to comments takes a lot of time. I also enjoy building a friendship/relationship with people and not that many bloggers want to really do that. So I have a number of ‘quality’ blogging friends who I’ve been communicating with for a number of years, and who I have a great rapport with. Blogging definitely has its rewards, but it also impinges on our time. I want to write another book this winter and I’ll just have to quit blogging (or keep it down to an absolute minimum) for a few months.

    Thank you for a great post, and for the wonderful photographs of Fountains Abbey! Love that pic of that grey-hooded monk-like man – I’m sure I’ve seen him before somewhere!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Hej Jude,
      well, this grey-hooded monk is the ghost watching over this blog 😉 😉
      We experienced the same as you did and this was one of the reasons for blogging every fortnight only. And as you we noticed having enough time for blogging makes it worth it again. We have our “quality” blogging friends as well and some even visited us here and we visited them. We agree there are bloggers and bloggers.
      Our dear Master has found his love for writing short texts through blogging. It’s more than a year ago when he wrote on a book (which is not finished yet).
      Good luck for your writing
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Your Fab Four blog is the epitome of blogging quality. Less is more, and leave them wanting more too. Photos carefully composed, and lovingly processed, just enough to translate the text, and inspire. You also engender admiration in photographers and writers alike, with the composition, and philosophical ideas.
    But everyone blogs for different reasons. Some for recognition, some to advertise and sell their writing, and many out of loneliness and isolation. We all settle on what is right for us. Some with numerous posts, or rambling thoughts, others like you with contemplative quality, and visual excellence.

    For me, it is simple communication. Sitting alone in a small room (like some of those monks of old) I am able to ‘meet’ people from all over the world, and some from just up the road, in Cley. I throw out my communication like an electronic message in a bottle. Some pick it up, others walk past it on the beach.
    It is nice for me to be part of a blogging community, at a time when it is less easy to be part of a physical one.

    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Pete
      first of all thank you VERY very much for your kind words 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      Indeed, blogging is communication and quite often a communication we lack in the so called real world. For me, Klausbernd, is the intellectual discussions I miss in our little village where everyone is nicely affirmative. For Dina it is the communication about her photography. And for our beloved Bookfayries Siri and Selma it’s a game and they bet their pocket money on likes and comments – oh dear!
      But we have to admit we don’t like people who bother others we senseless blogs, blogs like selfies with pictures one saw a thousand times – f.e. sun sets or fake light beams – and text without meaning. Anyway, we don’t need to visit them any more. As Jude writes above, we have our “quality” blogger friends (like you).
      The weather is quite wet in Cley, grey and cold. Just right to sit in and answer the comments.
      Have an enjoyable weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  26. Perhaps some people blog to know they are not alone (and find connection with their fellow man).

    Monks retreat from the busy frantic pace of everyday life to know that they are alone (to follow a path in solitary retreat).

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Vicki,
      monks as bloggers use to form a community. We suppose it’s human to form communities. In classic Greek society the people wee seen as zoon politikon and those people who didn’t want social contacts as idiotes. But the question is concerning the quality of the social contact, of the communication.
      Thanks and wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  27. Another fine post, with a marvellously sensitive portrait photograph. I began blogging because I was encouraged to. Little did I know that this would result in world-wide friendships. Never mind the figures. It is the comments that count.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Derrick
      our dear Master was even kind of pushed by Dina and Siri and Selma into blogging. He was absolutely naiv concerning blogging, hardly knowing what a blog is. Now we are blogging together for about 6 or 7 years and have made many friends.
      We see it like you, it’s the comments that count, they are real communication, often inspiring.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 3 people

  29. Blogging is my creative outlet. Some people paint, some write poems, some create tapestries; I blog. But the blog is as much a part of my reality as the pile of dishes waiting for me at the sink. Do I think of the reader when I write my blog? Of course I do, because I want my creativity to help foster communication, compassion, and companionship. But I have no need to play the numbers game. There is no point to it, for me. I would rather spend time contemplating Hanne’s beautiful photos, and reading your words, than trying to boost my numbers.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Gallivanta
      well, the numbers show how well you designed your blog and your text. It’s like publishing a book the turn-over tells you (your editor, your agent and publisher) how professionally you worked. But that’s only one side of the coin. As insiders and scientist write – I quote them above like Lanier (software developer for Microsoft) – all the social media are designed for having the illusion you are not like the masses but manipulate you to go for quantity at the same time. The illusion not going for numbers is necessary for hiding the overdetermination of quantitive in the program.
      Anyway, we just tried to reach an awareness what we are doing here, which illusion we are follow, and what the sunny sides of blogging are.
      Thank you very much for your comment.
      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  30. That resonates with me a lot. I wish to blog when I like it, not punished by the schedule, and produce texts that touch an emotion. It is not easy to keep that focus when numbers are celebrated so much. Why are we so people of numbers, I wonder.
    And I also wonder, how the non-commercial bloggers can keep their sanity. Because traffic is money for those who live of blog. But we, who don’t, can’t we just relax? 🙂 And enjoy the process? How can we remind ourselves that few meaningful connections in comments are more giving than numbers of likes?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you VERY very much for your commentary! 🙂 🙂 🙂
      Software specialists say the overdetermination of quantity is inbuilt in the programmes as in the search machines, of course. They have to be designed for the masses because in one way or the other they want to sell something (information or ads f.e.). A blogging platform like WordPress is on the surface free but it has to pay to run it and therefore masses of users are needed and especially user attracting a lot of users.
      Anyway, if we are aware of those inbuilt structures we may be more free not to watch numbers that much. But on the other hand it’s only human wanting to be loved by many and helps to keep up a certain kind of quality to reflect how a post will be received.
      But we don’t have an answer neither. We are naively happy about all the comments and likes here 😉
      Have a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 3 people

    • When people get run over by numbers is a bit sad. But being a human is such a complex experience, and we are all tipping from side to side, in our search for balance. The balance is in the movement, I believe. As we move, we figure out. So I don’t want to spend my time in the sad place, but move. Let’s move, we can figure out a lot!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you! I am right now in the heart of all things moving, in Barcelona where people are on the streets. A great reminder that the only constant in life is change. Have a great week you too!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi,
      I think it was Bert Brecht who coined the phrase
      “weil es so ist, muss es sich ändern”
      (because it is like it is it will change)
      All the best to you in Barcelona. May everything work out for the best (what ever that may be)
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Oh dear, sorry that answer went away too fast. Anyway I lectured and wrote about Brecht, especially about his lyrics I like really much. A couple of years ago I visited some of the places that were important in his life. I was in Augsburg where he was born https://kbvollmarblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/brecht-und-ich/ and in Buckow where he wrote his last lyrical cycle https://kbvollmarblog.wordpress.com/?s=Buckow and at his theatre where he used to work in the GDR after the war https://kbvollmarblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/theater-am-schiffbauerdamm/
      Unfortunately these articles are all in German only but if you don’t read German you can at least get an idea from the pictures.
      Concerning Catalonia I don’t know what I should wish. I have my Spanish agent and a publisher there therefore I am interested that Catalonia will stay a part of the EU
      All the best
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • I should get to know more of German poets, so far I have been only occupied with the Russian ones! I can read German, so I will check the posts, thank you.
      As for Catalonia, I believe that there is a solution without a breakup with Spain. It all depends on if the leaders will sit down and negotiate.
      Alles Gute!

      Liked by 2 people

    • If you are want to treat yourself to moving German poetry we can recommend the Romantic poet Eichendorff.
      Unfortunately we don’t know much Russian poetry except Pushkin.
      All the best
      💃👭🚶
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for recommendation. I once had to read Goethe, and was really enchanted by its translation into Russian.
      Well, Pushkin is Russian poetry, in a way 🙂 But there are many wonderful poets, my favorites are feminine poets from the Silver age of Russian poetry: Anna Akhmatova and Marina Cvetaeva.
      Have a great weekend!

      Liked by 1 person

  31. Purgatory with you is pure bliss! It brings joy to my heart and a huge smile to my face to find you ensconced in ‘my’ abbey. Well, one of mine- I don’t wish to be too greedy 🙂 🙂 And I acknowledge pure vanity from the very outset.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jo
      oh dear, Siri and Selma are sooooo happy about all the comments and likes – they were betting their next pocket money on it, penny to a dime. Now they have a big smile on their faces.
      Actually we prefer purgatory as well, much more interesting people there and a cosy round around the open fires, and, of course, great with you there.
      Wishing you all the best and a relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  34. “So würden Masterchen als Master Ludi und Dinalein auch gerne bloggen, eben Bloggen um des Themas Willen in philosophischer Ruhe” Ihr bloggt um des bloggens Willen ! .. bei euch zählt das Thema .. und ich schwöre euch eure Beiträge werden auch GELESEN .. 😀 reduziert das Kommentieren eine Weile, erholt ihr euch. Ich finde das ist zwar wunderschön (Waldfee, Schulter links) aber eben auch ein ganz schöner Zeitfresser (Trollschurke, Schulter rechts)! Schwedenlicht um eure Häupter. Ihr seid die besten.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Und ihr habt mich ans Buch gelockt 🙂 ich habe das “Glasperlenspiel” in meinem Buchregal entdeckt 😀 (Wollt ihr einen Kalender mit euren Blogbildern und kurzen Texten machen? Ich würd ihn kaufen auch für richtig Asche !! 😉 ) Lovisalein

      Liked by 1 person

    • Liebe Lovisa,
      gute Idee, jetzt wird erst einmal eine Pause im Wintergarten gemacht. Oh dear, da haben wir uns ja schon mächtig angestrengt, aber auch viele Ideen bekommen und einiges ist uns klarer geworden. Bloggen scheint ja glatt zu bilden 😉
      Dass ist toll, dass unsere Beiträge gelesen werden. Das möchten wir auch gaaaaanz gerne 🙂 🙂 🙂
      Und danke für das Schwedenlicht und dein Lob, da waren wir ja ganz rot.
      Liebste Grüße und Feenhauch
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Für’s Glasperlenspiel hat ja der Hesse den Literaturnobelpreis bekommen. Seine anderen Romane sind eher schwächer, teils nahe am Kitsch, teils stilistisch fragwürdig, aber “Das Glasperlenspiel” finden wir richtig toll. Viel Spaß bei Lesen
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Ach ja, Kalender … Wir mal so etwas gemacht, ein nerviges Geschäft, da man ab Januar nichts mehr verkaufen kann – und dann der Vertrieb …
      Aber herzlichen Dank für die Idee
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • ach daran hab ich gar nicht gedacht 🙂 Ist ja ein Produkt für nur ein Jahr .. oder ihr entwerft einen Kalender den man jades Jahr nehmen kann .. mit verschiedenen Motiven .. der Vertrieb bleibt aber natürlich. Liebstes euch!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Ja, weißt du, der springende Punkt im Verlagswesen ist der Vertrieb, der übrigens 50% und mehr der Kosten ausmacht. Das ist die Power z.B. von amazon, dass sie solch ein großes Vertriebsnetz aufgebaut haben.
      Liebste Grüße 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 nach Schweden
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  35. Fab Four of Cley,
    Why do we blog is an excellent question and does bring to mind the obvious – we want to heard, recognized and receive that long sought after ‘pat on the back’. These answers apply to most of us because of human nature, but I sat here thinking back – why did I start my blog? I remember going through my father’s scrapbook for the up-teenth time in my life and the pages were beginning to crumble in my hands. I knew I had to do something, but what? People told me to put it on line, but I live on a strict Social Security budget, a website doesn’t exactly fit into the budget and who would pay for it after I’m gone?
    The blog was the only answer I could see. I started it to be only about him and his 11th Airborne. To try and properly answer some of the reader’s questions, more areas of the Pacific War were brought in and the blog began to take on a life of its own.
    So – here I am dear friends, 5 years later. To fill a need to leave a legacy for my father or not, the Pacific Paratrooper will go on….
    Thank you for making me think this morning, my dear friends.
    GP Cox

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Our dear friend,
      we can well understand your reason for blogging and partly our reason is not that different. For us our blog is besides other reasons an archive of our pictures and ideas. Furthermore we wanted to pass on what we have thought about and created in photography. Of course, first of all we did test it out if it is of interest for other people. Our Maste had many texts his editors deleted from his book manuscripts and as he had the feeling that always the best paragraphs, meaning the most controversial and intellectual ones, were left out in the print version of his books, he wanted to save them, doing something with it. That was one reason for starting to blog 6 or 7 years ago. Dina kind of pushed our Master into blogging, she knew so much more about social media than he did. And as both were interested in the connection of pictures and words we just more or less naively started blogging. Now we write new texts for every blog and reflect how the text fit to the photographs. Since we decided to blog every fortnight we have more time to prepare our posts with the effect that we have much more fun blogging because we can keep up a certain quality that is rewarding.
      Thanks commenting and wishing you a really relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you for explaining your reasons for blogging. I know it has brought me such outstanding friendships as the Fab Four – and that is the best reason to KEEP blogging!!
      Although I also wish you a relaxing weekend – I hope the picture-taking will continue!!
      GP Cox

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear GP Cox
      it will. Dina is in Germany just for a couple of days but she will be back on Wednesday. And then the picture-taking goes on. We just started to think about our next post.
      With lots of love from rainy Norfolk, where autumn has arrived
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Ah, autumn, Klausbernd – I remember it well. It was only last year’s that I wrote a poem for Dina’s picture. I hope the changing leaves and countryside inspire her once again.
      (and it’s raining here as well)
      GP Cox

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear GP Cox
      yes, the leaves are just beginning to change colours and the flowers of autumn are blossoming. It became sunny this afternoon and I had a long walk inland with Siri and Selma.
      Dina is just in Germany. She will come back next week, when all the leaves shining yellow and red.
      I love autumn, a cosy time when we start burning our open fire in the evening, reading in the rocking chair and thinking about the candies we will bake for Christmas.
      Wishing our friend a cosy evening
      Klausbernd, Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma

      Liked by 2 people

    • You too, dear GP Cox. Have a wonderful Sunday. We feel happy and grateful to have you on board. Is the hurricane season finally coming to an end? We sincerely hope so.
      Warm greetings from the Rhine Valley and Cley. x

      Liked by 3 people

    • I can not recall a hurricane in October, but we still keep an eye – just in case. With each day passing, the changes improve. Thank you for your concern, Dina. I consider you and the other Fab Three my dear friends.
      GP Cox

      Liked by 2 people

  36. Thoroughly enjoyed this post and of course the excellent imagery. Riveaulx Abbey is another beautiful ABBey in the same area, so I do hope you managed to visit to here as well. I have often asked myself the same question about ‘why we blog’ and reading these comments so have many others. There must be so many answers, as we are all motivated in different ways. For me its about being creative and sharing my photos and thoughts with others. It’s not about chasing numbers but we are all human so a little praise never goes amiss. Please keep blogging.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Alan,
      yes, we will go on blogging, we promise.
      Why do we blog? is a question we have to ask ourselves again and again and maybe every time the answer is different. Like in many situations it seems to us that the question and the effort finding an answer is more important than the answer itself, which changes anyway over the time.
      Thank you very much for your comment 🙂 🙂
      We wish you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  37. You ask questions that most of us struggle with from time to time – especially when blogging life seems to take greater time from real life.
    Personally, I have to approach blogging the same way I approach real life – if I don’t have anything to say, I don’t say anything.

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    Reply

    • Dear Joanne
      a great solution – especially in a world where some people don’t have anything to say but say it 😉 😉
      Thanks for your comment and have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  38. We the readers are blessed and inspired by blogs like yours. The careful choice and wonderful technique in Dina’s photographs are a delight and a challenge. Klaus, your narrative spins out a story line that is always fascinating; I learn something from every one. And you are one of the few people (+Cindy) who responds to every comment with clarity and feeling, so the whole blog becomes a living novella with brilliant illustrations. Please, Fab Four, keep it up – but only as frequently that you still enjoy doing it!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Peter
      wow, what a great commentary! 🙂 🙂 Thank you very much!
      Such comments like yours keep us blogging and we promise we’ll keep on doing it. It is rewarding to go for quality and we learn a lot designing our posts. In a way it’s like a child for Dina and me, you care for and want to do the best for it. Siri and Selma see it as a happy kind of game in which they learn the easy way from Dina and their Master.
      With lots of love from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  39. Well your essay and photos are wonderful, and show a lovely day, so we’ll happily go to purgatory for both the weather and the company.

    Is “blogging” different from “traditional” publishing in some essential way? Other than the increased probability that the writer won’t receive payment! But pre-internet, there’s Dickens, earning his bread by cranking out monthly installments, or Shakespeare & Co., having to flatter whatever aristocratic gang was in power, or bribe the Master of Revels for a moneymaking venue, etc.

    Gutenberg no doubt introduced some anxiety into the life of the monastic scribes — apart from debates over allowing the great unwashed to access texts directly, and we’re sorry if the copyists, like hand-weavers, became expendable, but we’re very glad of books, and the technological progress which allows us to have our own libraries, on paper and hard-drive. Printing presses are invented, and the established order declares that society is going to hell, “…the Dark Ages just aren’t what they used to be!”

    The scribes who were simply copyists, skilled but basically scratching away mechanically, until Gutenberg and Saint Xerox appeared among us, were really no different from someone tightening bolts on an assembly line, and probably felt the threat of a printing press pretty keenly. The monks who created the illuminated documents than still transfix us, might also be threatened with “unemployment,” perhaps reassigned to mundane chores, cranking out bogus coats-of-arms or stirring the brewery vats or something, but they were genuine artists. That’s not to say, that artists are required to take a vow of poverty! But perhaps artists consider one of their motivations to be generosity? like that prayer (St. Francis? Hallmark greeting card?) “Teach me to be generous”.

    I understand that the pressure to produce quantity over quality, but hasn’t that always been the way of the world, one way or another? Some create art, and some potboilers, no matter what the structure or environment. Perhaps the gargoyles and fanciful creatures in the margins, were their equivalent of our GIF’s and Cute Kitten Videos.
    The monastic life looks very appealing, a fantasy of tranquility and deep contemplation – – but then I Googled it, and find out, there’s no women there? No poetry, barbeque or rock’n’roll? No bloggers with their beautiful photographs and creative essays? Nevermind, then. 

    We’ll have to strive for the inner tranquility and peace of mind that comes from telling the bean-counters to buzz off. But without the internet, we wouldn’t be having this “conversation”. I’m so glad to learn of your travels and a bit of your ideas. And the wonderful photos! and I appreciate your generosity in sharing them. And you draw such varied and interesting commentary, interesting in its own right.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Robert
      the monks copying and illuminating the manuscripts didn’t do it like in a production line. You can see it if you compare different copies of the same texts. They felt free to change texts, to let out what they didn’t like and added what they they thought it has to be said.
      We can hardly imagine that the Middle Ages had a total different idea of time. Time was not at all connected with productivity. This connection started to build up slowly in the 14th c with the beginning of towns basing on trade. Time is money is a development of trade and the use of money in all aspects of our life – actually one of the roots of alienation.
      Don’t misunderstand our text, please, we are not at all against the digital world. We think, as you do, that it brings enormous advantages – if we are aware of the disadvantages as well. Like with every new technology it’s only negative if we use it in a unreflected naive way. There is a permanent evolution in the technologies, or how Marx called it in the superstructure. And it was always the contemporaries who were afraid of it. But in the end we adapted. That’s the way of the Zeitgeist how Hegel put it, it’s the dialectic law of history. So we don’t think that f.e. social media are devilish. Like always it depends how we use them and this depends how much do we reflect what are we doing in this digital world.
      As you say this “conversation” wouldn’t be possible without a digital blogging platform.
      It would be a shame if we could communicate like this any more. Nevertheless we use blogging as a social medium not in a typical way if you compare it with other blogs. Our task is finding a positive way – whatever that means – to use social media and if we are successful to change their structure – but this is utopia.
      And last not least there were women in monasteries like Hildegard von Bingen and in quite a lot of monasteries the monks lived with women and had families. Bernhard of Clairvaux tried unsuccessfully to end this. And of course there were convents as well and later the Beginen.
      And there was as well, at least in the big monasteries like St Gallen f.e., huge libraries with all the classic texts f.e. like Ovids “are amatoria”.
      Thanks again for your great comment 🙂 🙂 so blogging makes sense, doesn’t it.
      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • I’m very appreciative of a scholar taking the time to respond, even when some of my comments about monasteries were a bit silly and facetious. I’m no medievalist, but I do enjoy the music of Hildegard v B (on CDs) I should have commented before, that you are generous with your time and writings, and your blog is undeniably atypical — most of us employ WP as a simple bulletin board, to pin up a few snapshots and random thoughts.
      I wouldn’t question that my conception of time is radically different from the medieval monks. Would you agree that the church, generally first to acquire clocks, with an obligatory schedule of prayer and services, helped create a more mechanical, segmented day? And perhaps their liturgy of the hours, meant to keep our minds on the next world, actually contributed to the regimentation and loss of genuine meditation and reflection in our current world. I read somewhere, that for many years, the Vatican has sent an envoy of sorts, who studies meditation “techniques” in Asia, trying to recapture this lost skill. And however appealing, I have doubts about the virtue of removing ourselves from the world in an attempt to gain insight. Your recent post re Dunrobin pointed out the irony of a fairytale castle built on the misery of the local people. Sometimes these beautiful abbeys might strike us the same way – undeniably a pre-capitalist world, but not lacking in acquisitiveness and accumulation of wealth — providing medical care perhaps and & perhaps spiritual guidance, certainly, but also some sense, exploiting and turning a blind eye those outside their walls? Again, thank you for writing, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

      Liked by 3 people

    • Dear Robert,
      your comments about the Middle Ages are not silly, they are the projection of our time on an age so different from our age now.
      You are right, the first clocks were on churches to remind the people of prayer times and it took quite a while until the clocks remind people first of all on working hours. Talking about time and work, there were parts of the continent, and I suppose in Britain too, where nearly every second day was a holiday celebrating all the saints, the local ones and the general ones. Of course the monasteries reflected the life in the society as well. The higher ranked monks – mostly nobility – did not much or none physical work. And as lower in hierarchy in the monastery as harder you had to work. And most of the monasteries pressed the unfree peasant very hard to wok for them. You are absolutely right it’s like with the castles build on the bones of the peasants. In a way the monasteries were the avantgarde of early capitalism, otherwise they couldn’t have erected such grand buildings and farm all their land. It was sheep farming in Fountains Abbey as well as in Dunrobin.
      But back to the time: To structure time was one of the grounds on which capitalism could be built. But as I wrote before time wasn’t at this time connected with productivity, at least not in a way we know it nowadays. Actually it wasn’t before Baroque that people started to reflect time and got a feeling of tempus fugitive, an often quoted saying. In this time trade became more and more important and it became especially important how fast ships could get from one place to the other. The search for the fastest route to the treasures of Asia f.e.
      Just cut a long story short for the “normal” peasant life under the power of a monastry was not much better than life of the working class in the times of early industrialization. It was different of course, it took place in nature and this made us idealizing it from the Romantic Age until now. The times before Romanticism saw much more the dark side of the Middle Ages.
      Okay, I am invited for a meal now and I have to change and to hurry.
      All the best and thank you vey much for your reply
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  40. I too have felt like putting on my robe (well, not the usual white terry cloth one) and spending time in contemplation. Why do I blog? Why should I continue? Still pondering but I do know I get inspiration from some and from others I just like being in contact with them as I have gotten to ‘know’ them so well. We all must find the path that is right for us but please don’t go totally away…. I may need you as a guide if our plans to visit Scotland pan out 🙂

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    Reply

    • Well, we get quite some inspiration from blogging as well. For us the comments are very liked and answering is often the challenge we need.
      Just feel free to ask when you want to visit Scotland.
      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  41. Interesting and effective how you tie all this together. To answer your question why blog. For me blogging makes me pay attention to what is all around. It also imposes a discipline and helps me keep writing skills intact. I appreciate those who have chosen to follow, but I try not to let increasing the number of followers be my goal.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Lulu
      well, well in deep in your heart don’t you enjoy getting new followers?
      To have an eye on the followers and/or likes is professional I would say as a writer. That was the first topic my editors and agents taught me many years ago. The number of followers has actually two sides: On one hand trying to get followers/likes improves your writing, it becomes more professional, usually it improves your style. On the other hand it implies stress or at least a challenge.
      For me as retired author blogging makes me pay attention what’s going on like it does for you and after all these books I have written I found my love for writing short texts.
      With discipline … I don’t know if I need it any longer.
      Thank you very much for commenting.
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      Klausbernd 🙂
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  42. I blog because meeting deadlines and writing to a formula for magazines lost all pleasure. Add to that the fact that the money paid became much reduced, and you have a reason why there are so many bloggers today. Having said that, the urge to communicate, the need to tell people about things seen and events witnessed, the imperative of showing one’s pictures rather than locking them in the computer or transferring them to DVDs where they may never be seen again, these are still there – hence blogging. I’m happy with my few followers and the friends who tell me they read my blog but don’t leave comments. If I wanted more traffic I’d sign up for Facebook and Instagram but I don’t want to belong to social media that extracts my every detail in return for dubious exposure.
    But don’t let’s get too serious about a fun exercise. Don’t worry about traffic and don’t try to compete with the top bloggers. Have fun, write and take photographs and enjoy putting them up for people to see.

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    Reply

    • Dear Mari
      we VERY very well understand your point and we 100% agree. You made your point clearly, thank you so much! 🙂 🙂
      We have a certain deadline for our blogposts. Every second Friday it has to be published. We actually have forgotten why we decided this 😉 but we follow this up for more than 2 years. But that isn’t such a problem for us.
      Blogging and getting such engaged interesting comments is really fun. So we love it!
      Wishing you a GREAT weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  43. Fabulous fotos from the Fab Four. The first two images remind me of the photos of “tree tunnels”—our attention is narrowed down to what the photographer wants us to focus on.

    You pose an interesting question, Why do we blog? For me it is a chance to clear my mind of thoughts and events so that I can make room for new ones. As I “defrag” my internal hard drive I get more disc space for whatever is current and relative in my life today.

    It is similar to cleaning out a clothes closet. If we don’t get rid of the apparel that we no longer wear, or that no longer fits us, we will not have room for anything new, if and when, we choose to purchase any. Some people will like it and some will not, but I am going to do it anyway. For me. Hopefully I will be a better person for it and be able to to be more present for others.
    Ω

    On a side note: Have you seen the documentary, Into Great Silence? It is a look at the Carthusian monks in France. 3 hours long, no words, and one camera with one cinematographer, no lights.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Allan,
      to defrag by blogging – what an interesting idea!
      We never thought about this but you made us aware that we do this as well by using our blog as an archive. We store pictures and texts on an exterior drive to unload and clear our brains.
      Indeed, we saw Into Great Silence – a remarkable film!
      Thanks a lot and wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  44. I love your questions. I make them myself and listening to my troubled heart for answers. The answer is; blog about nature, blog about hiking and the peace that arises in my troubled heart by doing so 🙂
    The tranquillity is beautifully visualized with Hannes’s pictures ❤
    Hanna xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Hanna
      thanks a lot for commenting.
      We love blogging about the topics we blog about. And writing and picturing them makes us understand them better and even more so to read and answer the commentaries. But when we are traveling it’s too much stress for us to blog as well. We have the habit to stay away from all social media when we are traveling, hiking (what we love as well) and on a holiday. Then we notice what a relief that is.
      Wishing you happy hiking and a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  47. Liebe Dina, liebes Masterchen,
    ein wunderbar geschriebener Text mit dazu passenden und wirklich beeindruckenden Bildern von dir liebe Dina. – Der Inhalt des Textes hat mich natürlich angesprochen, da ich seit einem dreiviertel Jahr auf Instagram tätig bin und mir beim Lesen bewusst wurde, dass mir die Worte, die ich zu meinen Bildern verfasse, ähnlich wichtig sind wie Euch. (Obwohl ich mich eigentlich eher als Photograph wie als Schreiber sehe.) Ich habe mich gefragt, ob mich Zweifel bezüglich meiner Aktivitäten auf Instagram plagen? Ich kann aus voller Herzensüberzeugung sagen Nein habe ich nicht! Wenn Besucher meines Blogs die Bilder und auch die Texte gefallen und lieken oder kommentieren, freue ich mich natürlich darüber. Sie regen mich an, sowohl meine photographischen Produkte als auch textlichen Ergüsse zu vervollkommnen. Es ist für mich ein positive Herausforderung jeden Tag ein Bild mit dem entsprechenden begleitenden Worten zu kreieren. Somit dient der Blog auf Instagram zu allererst nur mir selbst. – Deine kritische Einstellung zu Instagram und den dort gezeigten Bildern kann ich, von deinem Gesichtspunkt aus betrachtet, gut nachvollziehen. Ich sehe wie du, viele Bilder, die mich nicht interessieren. Ich bin darauf bedacht nur Besuchern zu folgen, die sich um gute Bilder bemühen, auch wenn sie damit gewisse Anfangsschwierigkeiten haben. Gleichzeitig folge ich Spitzenfotografen, die bemerkenswerte Bilder präsentieren, die man jederzeit in Galerien problemlos ausstellen könnte. Gerade von diesen lerne ich permanent dazu. Insofern dient mir Instagram, wie du siehst, auf den verschiedensten Ebenen. Darüber hinaus bin ich bei Instagram auf Menschen gestoßen, die ich auch auf der persönlichen Ebene gerne mal kennen lernen würde. Mit dem hatte ich, als ich Instagram beigetreten bin, nicht unbedingt gerechnet. Wie du siehst, bin ich ein kritisch überzeugter Instagramer, der sicherlich auch die problematischen Seiten eines solchen Netzwerkes sieht, aber sich davon nicht negativ beeinflussen lässt. Euch, ganz liebe Grüße aus dem spätsommerlich warmen Freiburg. Euer Freund Konrad

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Einen wunderschönen guten Morgen, lieber Konrad,
      zuerst einmal herzlichen Dank für deinen ausführlichen Kommentar.
      Ja, da hast du recht, ich werde weniger und weniger aktiv bei Instagram, da das ein Bildmedium ist, das für Schreibende eher uninteressant ist. Was Instagram für dich als hervorragender (wirklich!) Fotograf ist, ist für mich das Bloggen. Nicht nur beim Schreiben der Artikel, sondern auch beim Beantworten der Kommentare beginne ich Vieles zu verstehen, was mir zuvor eher dunkel war. Das Bloggen inspiriert mich und fordert mich intellektuell heraus – Siri meint kichernd, es sei mein Kopf-Yoga.
      Des Weiteren sehe ich nach meiner Erfahrung mit Instagram als großen Vorteil vom Bloggen, dass Bloggen nicht so ein schnelles Medium ist. Ich muss nicht auf Kommentare schneller reagieren, als ich denken kann, und vor allem, ich kann ruhig nur alle 2 Wochen oder auch mal 3 etwas veröffentlichen. D.h. ich habe Zeit, es zu durchdenken, es mit Dina, Siri und Selma zu diskutieren, es kann sacken und dazu ist noch Zeit zur Recherche. Das halte ich für einen großen Vorteil. Ich habe die Zeit zu reflektieren, wann und warum ich wie etwas mit Dina, Siri und Selma veröffentliche. Jetzt sehe ich dich grinsen und “professionelle Deformation” murmeln. Genau, ich bloggen im Grunde wie ich als Autor gearbeitet habe, eigentlich hat sich da nicht so viel geändert.
      Wie du Spitzenfotografen bei Instagram triffst, so treffe ich u.a. viele kluge, hoch reflektierte Leute beim Bloggen und habe dort auch Freundschaften geschlossen, die über das Virtuelle hinausgehen. – Ich wundere mich gerade selber, wie positiv ich heute über das Blagen schreibe und das kommt aus meinem Herzen. Klar, ich zweifele auch am Sinn meines Bloggers. Dieser Zweifel wirkt für mich als Ansporn, nicht nur mein Bloggen zu verbessern, sondern auch um neue Ausdrucksformen zu ringen. Ohne Zweifel – ganz im Gegenteil zu Wolfram von Eschenbach, der das übrigens von Chretien de Troyes hat – würde mir das Bloggen langweilig. Es ist ja in der intellektuellen Bloggerszene wie auch bei Instagram üblich, affirmativ freundlich zu sein. Bürgerlich wohlerzogen wird die Kritik ausgeblendet, die aber – zumindest für mich und uns – notwendig ist, um sich zu verbessern. So nutz ich den Zweifel als Kritik, die ich an mir selber übe.
      Und zuletzt noch, ich will nicht länger als ein bis zwei Stunden täglich vor dem Rechner sitzen. Dafür lebe ich nicht in solch einer schönen Landschaft am Meer mit feinen Garten und außerdem sollte ja auch das Soziale nicht zu kurz kommen. D.h. ich habe mir deswegen das Bloggen als soziales Medium gewählt, da es mir mehr Freiräume lässt als die anderen Medien, die mir – ist das nun eine Altersfrage? – zu schnell sind.
      Übrigens wie bei Instagram gibt es auch beim Blogger haarsträubenden Schwachsinn, bei dem man nicht weiß, ob man lachen oder heulen sollte.
      So, jetzt werde ich mal meine Runde durchs Dorf drehen, Siri und Selma drängeln schon nörgelnd. Kalt wurde es über Nacht, brrrr, da müssen wir ja Jacken anziehen.
      Mit ganz lieben Grüßen vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer auch an Astrid
      Dein Freund Klausbernd 🙂
      und feinsten Feenhauch von Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma

      Liked by 2 people

    • Lieber Konrad,
      habe herzlichen Dank für dein liebes Lob, ich habe mich total darüber gefreut. 🙂

      Ich melde mich in anderem Anliegen, nämlich deinen richtig tollen Blog:

      http://www.through-my-lenz.de

      der etwas besonderes bietet, die Fotos in zwei Ausführungen zu sehen. Immer mit einem kleinen Text und Info zu Bild. Wäre es nicht sinnvoll deinen WordPress Gravatar zu benutzen (oder spätestens jetzt einen einrichten 😉 ) damit man dich immer sofort erkennt und dir zu deiner Arbeit zurückverfolgen kann, wenn du so feine Kommentare schreibst? Oder, wenn du schreibst, dich zuerst bei WP einloggen – dann erscheint auch deine Blogadresse.

      Der Gravatar ist mit dem Profilbild auf Instagram zu vergleichen. Wer würde ein Foto auf IG setzen ohne den Wunsch zu haben gesehen zu werden?

      Dies nur als Anregung.
      Herzliche Grüße aus dem Rheintal,
      Hanne

      Eddie Two Hawks writes:
      The information that a Gravatar provides helps everyone find your
      web site on the internet. It enables any person you ‘like’ to instantly
      return a visit to your blog. As described on its own information page,
      “a Gravatar is a Globally Recognized Avatar”. In other words, you
      have an opportunity to embed a link to your website. It makes finding
      you quick and easy for those folks you visit and for others who might
      see your Gravatar. I find it particularly useful for returning a visit to
      those people who are new or I am not following. It is a free way to advertise
      your blog. Why not take advantage of it? It is easy to use. By reading the
      instructions carefully, you can be drawing more attention to your blog
      with this simple application.

      Liked by 1 person

  49. What interesting questions you have posed! I blog to record the lovely things I see and to prove to myself that my life isn’t as boring and drab as I sometimes think it is! At least, that is what I started out doing. I have since discovered all sorts of interesting people who also record the lovely things they see in their part of the world. I like to interact with all these fascinating people and to share my thoughts and experiences with them. I am pleased with the few likes I have on my blog but I appreciate the thoughtful comments much more.
    I love your photos of this most wonderful ruined abbey! I have visited Fountains Abbey but such a long time ago!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Clare
      thank you very much for your comment describing what blogging is for you. Actually it’s quite similar for us as well. The exchange with other people is important. And having read all the comments here, we see that for most of our visitors – like for us too – the comments are what matters. Siri thinks that the comments show if a blog is dead or not.
      And thanks for liking Dina’s pictures.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  51. A thousand years ago monks and various sages needed to flee the ravages of civilization. How much noisier and nervous it is today, especially with our nearly constant connection with some device. Don’t feel so guilty about blogging, tho.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear John
      sorry, I disagree. On the contrary I experienced in my life as an author that doubt was a power giving me the kick for getting better. If we see it on the level of social media we can notice that we communicate in a polite affirmative way. But – at least we Fab Four – need critique for getting better. If this critique doesn’t come from the outside we have to produce it ourselves as doubt.
      Thank you very much for liking our pictures and text 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  54. Beautiful photos as usual… I grew up i Yorkshire and went to a convent ( though not a Catholic)… I know so many glorious ruins besides Fountains… including Rivaulx Abbey… hope you get the chance to see it too…
    Blogging is a fascinating subject… I got into it at the urging of my daughter and her friend.. having been a writer for nearly fifty years with a readership of over a quarter of a million in magazines ad newspapers, as well as writing books, I found the readership of blogs puny… so why do i write… because I can’t stop.. it satisfies an inner urge to use words and ideas for my own enjoyment… I feel stimulated and alive when i’ve finished writing a blog or an article… the friendships and comments that go along the way are a delicious bonus… but to stop writing? – an impossibility…I only stopped writing in magazines two years ago at 77, and can’t see when I’ll stop blogging… maybe when I’m eighty !!!
    And as for reading blogs… the ones I enjoy I’ll go on reading as long as they are written !!! Like yours !!!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Valerie,
      well, I didn’t know that you had a similar life as I had. I can well agree with everything you have written here.
      After having written many books I discovered my love for the short texts. I never wrote short texts before only articles but even those were longer than a normal blog. Another reason is to use all the texts that my editors deleted from the print or film versions of my books – but I thought they are the best paragraphs (but not triggering the sales). And this is another reason after many years working as an authors I came to my limits not only physically with lecture tours, TV stuff, book signings and all the book fairs but also with my readership.
      Anyway as you do I can’t imagine not to write. Blogging is ideal for me and I love answering comments. Last not least I love working together with Dina, reflecting the communication between picture and text and get inspired by our dear Bookfayries Siri and Selma.
      With lots of love and thank you very much
      Klausbernd
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  56. I find it fascinating how a monastery , even a ruin, can inspire deep thought and inspire us to ask important questions of ourselves. Is there a remaining spirit of meditation in those stones? Are there deep thoughts still drifting through the empty rooms? As for blogging…..hmmmm…..maybe it is recognition or maybe it is a quest for connection with others in other parts of the world, living lives so very different from ours and exchanging ideas with them. Hmmm….maybe the monastery stones are speaking to me or maybe I am just babbling on. Interesting post. Thank you!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Anne
      well, we think that those old stones are inspiring. We can’t really grasp but it seemed that the architecture helps to concentrate and contemplate. Of course there is a lot of projection involved as well. We all see the Middle Age idealizing through the eyes of Romanticism, but that’s part of it, part of the genius loci. At least we experienced that the ruins inspired us immediately.
      Thank you very much and have a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks to you for a thought provoking post. I have continued to think about “recognition” and how it differs from “fame”, “adulation” and “notoriety”. Recognition has an element of respect inherent in it. so perhaps that is not such a bad thing to pursue.

      Liked by 3 people

    • We think everyone needs recognition and we don’t feel ashamed that we actually love recognition, f.e. for our blog. Dalo comments about that quite well.
      We think recognition and respect are quite close semantically.
      Recognition and fame, well, fame can but doesn’t need to include recognition – but we are not sure. Your and our problem is that we are not native speakers to get the meanings really clear divided with all their connotation.
      Nevertheless we’ll think about …

      Liked by 2 people

  57. I like your thoughts here. I, too, have contemplated these questions. I began blogging as a way to share our wonderful experiences while living in Costa Rica. As an avid photographer, I love to share the wonderful things I see through my lens, things most people don’t often pay attention to, i love when people enjoy them as well. I also blog to share my thoughts, my poetry. It is more rewarding thenwhen someone understands my message and tells me so. Yet, it is in the writing that my true fullfillment comes. I don’t do a lot of the prompts tha float around for that is where the pressure to perform/conform will start to make me feel confined, controlled and suffocated. I hope you don’t stop sharing your world and thoughts because I certainly enjoy them! 😊

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Cheryl,
      thank you very much for explaining why you are blogging. That’s a reason we share: Making people see something they haven’t seen or thought of before. And of course we all love communication as it is life.
      We will not stop, at least not in the near future. All these comments and reactions to this post made us to love blogging very much again.
      Lots of love, happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  58. Such deep thoughts, as cavernous as the Cellarium pictured. I hope you bookfayries don’t get headaches! I’m not blogging right now. I have so many posts in my virtual queue, but what for? To blog or not to blog, that is the question, whether tis nobler… But it’s all empty and meaningless, and I have miles to go before I sleep, and books to read, books to read… “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.” –Bladerunner. “Countless memories ebbing like tears in the sand.” -me, paraphrasing.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear John,
      we really liked your comment and we have piles of books everywhere waiting to be read.
      The positive side of blogging is for us that writing what we are thinking about means organizing our ideas and we think writing. We have the feeling we have only really understood something if we have written it down. The blog is an archive of our ideas we can turn to when giving a lecture, when writing another text. And then there is the communication with other people who help us seeing other aspects of a topic we write about.
      Will these moments really lost in time? We doubt it. They will influence other people, at least we hope so, and they will influence others and so they will go on and on, of course changing but not forgotten. It’s like we are influenced by the view of the Romantics seeing the Middle Ages or by Kant, Hegel and even the classic Greek philosophers.
      Thanks for your commentary 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Your reply is thought-provoking. Blogging with purpose. (But of course, doesn’t everyone?) I recently printed a book of my blogposts ‘Reviews of Lapham’s Quarterly, Winter 2008-Summer 2017’. It makes them more real for me and gives me hope that they will exist at least a little longer than I do.

      Liked by 1 person

  59. Insight and the asking of a very powerful question ~ why do we blog, why do we do what we do? You found a great place to ask this question, and I think your Master is correct, “Tranquility produces quality.” Tranquility allows us to contemplate and produce ideas and eventually art (being the painter, photographer, surgeon, accountant, etc…) ~ beautiful art that shapes the world. Us bloggers, it is the same. To be able to find tranquility, people often withdrawal from reality and I agree when we blog we again withdrawal from reality. This makes it a perfect connection for us to produce something of quality.

    This post is perfect for contemplation. The value of contribution is an important driver to the human spirit; we need to contribute. We need to feel and believe we contribute. Likes, comments and re-blogs feel great, they are a “payment” for the time we put in…and any work we do in life we expect “payment.” It is important to our psyche at some level I believe. So, it then becomes a question of trade-off. What kind of “work” will I do? What do I value? Quality or quantity… Adding something to society. Contribution is the key. Quality is the key. Quality like the amazing photos that adorn this post is a great example ~ I think the vast feeling of the specific history of this monastery helps create the perfect mood of this post.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Dalo
      thank you so much for your GREAT comment 🙂 🙂
      For us it’s the comments, reblogs and likes which are motivating us to go on and trying to get better and better. Nothing motivates more than a kind of reward, a “payment”. In a society like ours it’s an illusion not to be dependent on such rewards. They are a kind of conditioning and positive rewards help us to keep up our energy to share something with others, to contribute to the permanent discourse that’s running in our society. And there is no doubt for us that quality is the key.
      Thank you for making us aware that withdrawing from the “real realitiy” we do blogging is using a free peaceful space that is basic for creating something of worth.
      All the best, happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Brian,
      what an interesting question. Is religion reality? We don’t think so, it’s one way to explain reality. But here we run into trouble, how do we define reality.
      One could as well ask is blogging a reality.
      We hate to think about this …
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  63. “Why do I blog?” has become as large a question for me as “Why don’t I blog?” was before I began blogging. The original idea was to reach a larger readership for my work. I certainly achieved that. When other blogs and web sites began posting my work, I saw some of it was reaching tens of thousands of readers. But nearly all did it without asking permission, and all did it without thinking to pay me. That was despite the fact that some of the same blogs would ask me for donations for ‘their’ work when it was ‘my’ work I saw on that particular page. Nevertheless, though Angelica and I are about as far from being rich as you can get, without being poverty-stricken, as I said in the beginning, I was blogging trying to reach a wider readership, if I received some money from my efforts, it would be an added bonus.

    At the moment, I hover in limbo-land, unsure of whether to finish my latest unfinished post, or let it rot with a long backlog of many more unfinished posts idling in some forgotten corner of my computer that I can never work out how to get to. Or whether I should drift away from electronic la-la land, where the average span of attention is about as long as it takes to chuckle at a few seconds of an endless video loop of a fluffly kitten falling into a bucket of milk, before leaving an infantile image of a laughing emoji and commenting LOL, just to show I have been there.

    As our increasingly tiresome selfies demonstrate we have become a planet of narcissists, falling over ourselves in the rush to be exploited by the social media giants who pay us nothing while reaping billions off our backs. We no longer read books, preferring to watch the same stuff we could see out on our streets if we could lift our heads from our microscreens long enough to gaze at the real world that lies just beyond the window. Yet I know there are many jewels still to be discovered among the ever-expanding universe of usless, self-worshipping, self-serving and selfish trivia that infests cyberspace like a mental bubonic plague, leaving a large proportion of us hardly enough functioning brain cells to remember we poured boiling water onto a teabag more than half an hour ago.

    With those thoughts in mind, I wish everyone a very happy weekend!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Bryan
      you start with the problem of reblogging and not getting payed for your texts. I see this a bit different. For me it’s PR my publisher or I don’t have to pay for. Without having a special profile in the social media and without being known there you don’t get a decent publisher or a decent agent nowadays. The other side of the coin is copyright in the net. There needs a lot to be regulated. I published most of my book with Random House and its imprints in print and as eBooks. The eBooks sell less than the print version but I noticed when a eBook-version gets published the sales of the print edition are rising. My editor just sent me a new research about reading: as more people are using the net as more books they buy. It seems to me there isn’t an either or but print and digital compliment each other.
      Back to blogging as an author: When my agent is selling my foreign rights first of all the potential buyer looks at social media nowadays, are you known there, which reputation do you have in this scene. So being reblogged and getting comments pays for an author, as I said it’s PR you don’t need to pay for.
      If you look at the visitors at our block most of them are readers and most of them are well read. That’s natural that a reader blogs, if you read a lot you usually feel an urge to write. All those ideas in your heart want to be expressed. But our society gets more and more divided between those who read, write and reflect and those you describe here who drown in narcissism and can’t and don’t want to be focused for more than a couple of seconds.
      Thanks for commenting and have a happy weekend as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      By the way our dear Master is a retired author and happy to write short texts for our blog with the help of Dina, his dedicated editor, and of course the clever Bookfayries Siri and Selma

      Liked by 1 person

  64. ‘Purgatory of Blogging’ contains questions which I often asked myself. Blogging can easily degenerate into a hunt for more and more lies combined with trite comments. All social media have this artificial form of expression built into their system. However, like in your examples of the monks, in blogging there is also much room for contemplation and search for meaning in a chaotic world. If we focus on that aspect blogging can be a positive force. Thank you for your thought provoking post!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Peter
      thanks a lot. We see blogging as you do, otherwise we wouldn’t be blogging. It’s maybe a bit over the top but one of our aims is to enhance the quality of blogging. And this starts by reflecting what we are doing here.
      Thank you very much for your comment.
      Wishing you a relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Your aim to improve the quality of blogging is quite realistic and achievable. Remember the darker the world is around you, all the more brighter will be your light shining in the darkness. You have so many friends in the blogging world and I am sure many of them seek your blog for their enlightenment. Greetings to the Fab Four of Clay from sunny BC!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Peter
      thank you very much for your soooo kind words.
      We try to produce quality posts. It’s maybe easier for us than for other bloggers because all our blogposts are teamwork of the clever Bookfayries Siri and Selma and Dina and our dear Master. And then there is the time factor as well: We always have a fortnight to discuss, criticize and edit our blogposts.
      With lots of love to BC
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Julie
      Thanks for liking Dina’s pictures 🙂 🙂
      We’ll do, we’ll keep on blogging and trying to get better and better and, of course, having more and more fun doing it 🙂 🙂
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  66. Excellent photos matching the substance of the text. I am sure that we all have different reasons for blogging – maybe the common thread is that we are trying to make sense of our personal reality. Most of us at some time must ask ourselves ‘Why am I doing this?’ Six years ago I posed this question (ttps://lagill6.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/why-am-i-doing-this-2/) but received little response!!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Louis
      An interesting idea that we blog to make sense of our personal reality. We have to think about it. What do you think about blogging to understand ourselves and what surrounds us. That’s probably the same as your idea …
      Well, every idea has its favourite time. Six years ago we all blogged with a different consciousness. At least we didn’t asked this question then.
      Have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  67. The photos are as fabulous as The Fab Four. They seem saturated with silence, and the peace of a perspective longer than that generally assumed by people today.

    As for blogging? When I began, my stated intent was to use the platform as a way to learn how to write. Eventually, people started stopping by to visit. I appreciated it, and still do. I love the conversation, and what I learn from my readers. Still, the point for me is the writing, and now the photography. I love sharing both my experiences and my thoughts, and I enjoy what I gain from others’ sharing. I’ve always believed that interesting, high quality content is the key to building readership, and so it has been. Even without the use of social media or WordPress cheap tricks, I’ve built a following that might surprise a lot of people if I published the numbers: which I don’t intend to do.

    I suppose the accomplishment I’m most proud of is that I’ve developed a comment section where grownups of every age can engage in real conversation. For nearly ten years, I’ve been able to leave the comment section on every post open, and people still comment on posts from five or more years ago. It’s proof that the internet doesn’t have to be a vast, cynical, snarky wasteland. To paraphrase a famous movie line: if we build a better blog, they will read.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot for commenting 🙂 🙂
      For us the communication is important and therefore we like the comments. We learn a lot from answering them. It’s like the questions our Master was asked on his lectures and interviews, they gave him impulses to understand more and writing his next book better than that before. But, of course, there is always the question why other people should be interested in my thoughts. As a blogger as well as an author one easily starts to believe that one’s idea are important and matter. But do they really? One could argue everyone’s ideas matters and that’s right as well. But what really matters? Actually we don’t know. Therefore we blog about such questions. Maybe we will find out.
      And we absolutely agree: If we built a better blog, they will read. Do you know what “better” means? More followers, likes, comments? How will you measure “better”?
      Anyway, wishing you a great Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  68. Wow, das sind mal wieder krasse Bilder, liebe Hanne! 👌
    Die Aufnahme von Dir, lieber Klausbernd 😇, gefällt mir gut. Du strahlst da so viel Ruhe aus, dass wir uns hier um die Qualität wohl keine Sorgen machen müssen.

    Wünsche euch noch ein schönes Wochenende 💃🏼
    Marianne

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Marianne,
      schön, wieder einmal von dir zu lesen. Ja, unserem Masterchen geht’s blendend, seitdem er privatisiert. Das tut ihm echt gut, und natürlich tun wir ihm supergut.
      Toll, dass dir Hanne-Dina’s Fotografie so gut gefällt!
      Wir senden dir liebe Grüße und feinsten Feenhauch
      The Fab Four of Cley
      Wie geht’s denn deinem Masterchen? Ihm auch liebe Grüße von uns.

      Liked by 1 person

  70. “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” Anaïs Nin Another excellent post!!! The photos are exquisite! I blog to remember the miracles, the struggles, the joys and friendships. In the midst of compelling and competing messages there are still, quiet voices that change the conversations! You are one! Hugs coming to my dear friends the Fab Four of Cley!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Rebecca,
      indeed, good old Anis Nin got it right – like ever so often.
      Thank you very much for liking our post. Well, as you know, there are posts and posts one publishes. This one was a very special one for us. We all 4 got so engaged getting it right and as nice to read as we were able to. And now we are more than happy about all these comments.
      Thank you so much for seeing us as one of the quiet voices that chance the conversation. Indeed, that’s our aim.
      With a big HUG for our dear Canadian friend and lots of love from the tiny village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  71. Was nützt das Wort, wenn es nicht zum Ausdruck gebracht werden kann im Gespräch, im Dialog.
    Der Zuhörer erfüllt eine wichtige Funktion auf dem Weg zu mir selbst. Er ist mein Spiegel.
    Wir sagen, er leiht uns sein Ohr, damit wir uns selber hören können.

    Ich blogge gerne.
    Herzlich Barbara

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Barbara
      na, das ist ja schön, dass du gerne bloggst. Das tun wir übrigens auch und die Reaktionen auf diese Post halfen sehr, unsere Freude am Bloggen aufrechtzuerhalten. Uns wird klarer, speziell auch beim Beantworten der Kommentaren, warum wir gerne bloggen.
      Mit herzlichen Grüße vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  73. Hello, my dear fab Four,
    Now you indeed raise a questions difficult for me to answer: why do I blog? Let me start by admitting that, of course, I certainly look at the number of visitors, views, likes, and comments. And, of course, the more the better. That certainly strokes my ego. Of course I want to be read – and that’s the main purpose of my blogging. It’s not just some strange kind of fun at hacking away at the keyboard. No, definitely no “masturbation by keyboard”. 😀
    Communication absolutely is one of my aims. Letting people know about my life here in the US, as I describe my aims on the “about” page of my two blogs. And yes, indeed and sincerely, I hope that my narratives and pictures do indeed help people to get an understanding of this wonderful country that goes beyond (present) politics.
    But then, I still am always doubtful, how much I blog simply for recognition. Well, would that be wrong? Again, blogging just without expecting any recognition would be like what I called “masturbation by keyboard”, wouldn’t it?
    So, is there really a “purgatory of blogging” for me? I doubt it. “Purgatory” in the sense of having to go through a horrible experience/state, in order to achieve some better state, to be redeemed, to become free of sin? And that, after/through the “purgatory” of blogging one could achieve paradise? No, I don’t think so. “Paradise” of what, btw.?
    Maybe I’d rather use the phrase “per aspera ad astra”: sometimes blogging has its real difficulties, and is very time-consuming, but I get something good from it, especially all those friends I meet here, and sometimes even – after having met them “virtually”, in real life. I also get – to further myself – a lot of insights and ideas I would never have had without exchanging views – may they be ever so contrary to mine. This education for myself is really something I get from blogging.
    So, blogging is no “Glasperlenspiel” for me – definitely not.
    Well, let me finish here – for a while. It’s close to 10 in the evening, and I want some time for contemplation [no, not in te way of te old monks], just with a good glass of wine and away from the keyboard. But I don’t want to leave without thanking Dina for her excellent pictures.
    All of you, in the small village by the big sea, and in the former “Bundesdorf”, take best of care, enjoy a wonderful Sunday, and
    seid herzlichst gegruesst,
    Pit

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Pit
      thank you so much for great and honest commentary. We are like you, we want to be read by many and we are very happy about likes, followers and especially comments.
      Concerning the purgatory: When the first missionaries made contact with the Inuit at Greenland they used their old trick talking about purgatory and hell. The Inuit love it, for them it was paradise, a warm place they wanted to be. You see, purgatory can be seen as quite cosy and we will find more interesting folks there, like in hell, than in the cold heaven.
      We understand “Das Glasperlenspiel” in a different way, like fundamental research (Grundlagenforschung) as it is done f.e. at Cern. It’s the luxury of doing something basic without concerning the economics – at least not on the short run. You and we are on lower level on this position to have the freedom to reflect the world we are living in without having to look that it pays. Isn’t that a kind of “Glasperlenspiel”?
      Anyway, we send you lots of love, take care and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Klausbernd, for your answer. 🙂 I agree: in a way Blogging is a luxury, as we do it not to earn money. But sometimes it can be a time-consuming luxury. 😉
      Enjoy your Sunday – the remainder of it, rather – and my regards to the other 3/4 of the Fab Four,
      Pit

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Pit
      indeed, it’s really time consuming. And therefore we asked if it is worth it. But we think it is, well, we can afford this luxury.
      With lots of love and have an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Klausbernd,
      For me, what is so time-consuming about blogging is not so much writing/posting in my own blogs [although this does take quite some time], but commenting in many of the other blogs I’m following, and then, quite often, answering the answers, and so on and so on. Such – often long – dialogues are nice, but …
      Anyway: I don’t want to miss that aspect of blogging, not at all. This is where blogging enriches my life.
      Enjoy the week, and regards to all of you,
      Pit

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Pit
      We know quite well what you’re writing about. It’s a bit easier for us as we can share answering comments and commenting at other blogs. That helps a lot. I actually like answering comments.
      Wow, we have quite a wind 💨 here, but sunny ☀️ and warm.
      You enjoy 😊 the week as well, kind regards
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  74. hello dina its dennis the vizsla dog hay dada sez that i hav to blog on akkownt of i am a shut in and do not go ennyware on akkownt of my varyus kondishuns and so this is how i hav to keep in tutch with my frends!!! persunaly i think he is projekting a littel!!! ha ha ok bye

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  75. Frage, ist mönchsein alleine eine Bereicherung für die Menschheit? Ich selbst betreibe meinen Blog so als Mischung von Foto- und Erlebnisbuch, als Dokumentation für mich selbst. Aber da bin ich eher bei Malern als bei den Mönchen, die ihre Bilder nicht in Kellern lagern, sondern öffentlich aufhängen und hoffen vorübergehende können sich an ihren Bildern erfreuen, oder ihre Meinungen abgeben. Ich meine eher, der Mönch verschließt sich, der Blogger öffnet sich, gibt etwas Preis von sich. Zumindest seine Sichtweise. Sieht man auch im Blog – The World According To Dina.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Naja, die mittelalterlichen Mönche waren die Intellektuellen der damaligen Zeit und es wäre völlig falsch, sich das Mönchen als abgeschlossen und strikt damals vorstellen. Wie ich weiter oben schon sagte, teilweise lebten Mönche mit ihrer Familie im Kloster, und sie waren bis etwa zur Aufklärung die einzigen, denen ein Blick über ihre unmittelbare Umgebung möglich war. Sie betrieben Astronomie, Geographie, lasen die griechischen Klassiker, waren einflussreiche Politiker und konnten frei umherreisen, was sonst nur den Scholaren seit dem späten MA möglich war. Klar, da ist das von Luther geprägten Bild des Mönches auf der Wartburg, der im stillen Kämmerlein mit der Übersetzung der Bibel die deutsche Sprache vereinheitlicht.
      Mönche waren ohne Frage eine Bereicherung für die Menschheit, da viele Erfindungen, Entdeckungen (speziell in der Biologie), medizinischer Fortschritt und was nicht alles von Mönchen stammt. Es konnte ja im MA fast kein anderer lesen und schreiben, und keine anderer hatte so viel Freiraum. Der “normale” Mensch hatte ja von morgens bis abends zu arbeiten.
      Wie du sehe ich Bloggen auch als Kommunikation und somit als Austausch mit anderen, eben das, was wir hier jetzt tun.
      Hab herzlichen Dank für deinen Kommentar und einen feinen Sonntag
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  76. Oberstufe Physik, Dr. Schwarz, wir verbrachten Stunden/Tage damit an kleine Wägelchen unterschiedliche Magnete zu befestigen und sie über “Schienen” sausen zu lassen, die mit Sand bestreut waren. Am Ende der Tische stürzten sie ab und hinterließen ein Frequenzmuster (???)..so komische Streifen…
    Ich kapierte nicht wirklich, was wir taten, aber ich wunderte mich doch sehr, dass dieser etwas verkautzte alte Mann sich so freute und immer und immer wieder sein Wägelchen losschickte und uns erwartungsvoll und Freude strahlend anschaute…
    Happy Sunday!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  77. I smiled at your comment to me, above. It reminded me of a wonderful poem titled “Berryman,” by W.S. Merwin. The poem concludes:

    “I had hardly begun to read
    I asked how can you ever be sure
    that what you write is really
    any good at all and he said you can’t

    you can’t you can never be sure
    you die without knowing
    whether anything you wrote was any good
    if you have to be sure don’t write.”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Yes, we asked that question as well in some answer above.
      Sorry, but your answer it’s not convincing us. It doesn’t explain, does it? Is contentment what we want? Well, isn’t that a bit too boring, too conservative? Nothing new came from contentment but from doubt and asking question beyond the conventional.
      Well, nevertheless thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  79. It is impossible for me to add anything original to this conversation, all that I think has already been said! But I will repeat that Hanne’s photos are beautiful and your words have given me much food for thought, so an interesting breakfast for me.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      We are as well still digesting this opulent breakfast.
      But now we have to make a break for grounding and clean the house
      Happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  80. Wonderful post again, Fab Four. Reading you is like a lesson in mindfulness. I don’t blog, only read a few blogs, but I can easily transport your questions to my life and question my motives for my daily actions. Thank your for your thought provoking ideas and superb photos. I have something to chew on now. 🙂
    Hope you had a great weekend.
    Hugs, Sarah x

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Sarah,
      you are right, basically it’s about the question why we are doing what we are doing. There is maybe not a last answer to it, but to ask this question seems to us important. We could also ask does it make sense what we are doing. Blogging and being active in social media is only an example.
      Thanks for liking our post 🙂 🙂
      With lots of love from the North Norfolk coast
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  82. Well, firstly, thanks for those wonderful images of Fountains Abbey, a place where I am privileged to volunteer. Blogging? For me, it’s my diary, an outlet for writing. And the huge and unexpected bonus has been making relationships with fellow bloggers, some of whom I’ve been able to meet. Unlike the routines of the monks of Fountains Abbey, my blogging life is not introspective, silent, and an aspect of a more spiritual life.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, dear Margaret,
      for us blogging is a kind of routine of preparing, editing, writing and choosing the pictures for our posts every fortnight. It’s mostly a bit introspective like this post here. But isn’t every writing more or less introspective?
      Wishing you a happy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Pit
      we enjoy great autumn weather right now, clear, sunny, crisp air in the mornings and evenings and the wild geese flying in big flogs above our house. Tomorrow, when Dina comes back, we will have changing weather, cloudy, sunny, a drop of rain – just everything. We like this. Actually we had enough summer now.
      With lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Pit
      that’s the important sign of autumn: The wild geese flying over Cley every morning and evening. Actually in quite big flogs of many hundreds of birds. In spring, before they leave for the Arctic (Greenland and Siberia) the flogs can be as big as several thousand birds. That’s really noisy then.
      Lots of love from us
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      We are very happy. We’ll drive soon to the airport for picking up our dear Dina. Fortunately she is staying then for long! 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Pit
      maybe they stay over winter there as well when harsh conditions start in Arctic Canada. They usually stop over in Norway too. It’s a problem there because these huge flogs produce that much shit that nothing grows on the fields anymore. But here it doesn’t seem to be a problem.
      I just have given an interview for Bild am Sonntag, oh dear, about colours and healing. Well, my editors and publishers push me giving such interviews. I always have doubts if I should give interviews or writing articles for the Axel Springer publishers. But compared with SUN and STAR here in Britain the BILD is a quality paper.
      Now I will drive to Norwich for picking up Dina.
      With lots of love from Cley
      Klausbernd, Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Klausbernd,
      I don’t know/remember, if they stay there for winter, or if it’s just a rest stop on their way even further south. I only remember that they must have been so numerous, that with one shot the hunters could kill more than one bird, and that there was a competition going on between them, who could build the biggest gun. Nowadays there aren’t that many any more, though.
      As to them “fertilizing”: they must have polluted the waters a lot. But nowadays human beings have taken over that role. The Chesapeake is in danger of dying.
      Do I have to read the “Bild” now? 😉
      Take care, and have a safe trip to Norwich and back.
      Say hello to Dina, please, and to the bokkfairies, too,
      Pit

      Liked by 1 person

  84. Ich bin der fleissigste und aufmerksamste Leser meines Blogs. Ich bin derjenige, der sich mit eigenen Beiträgen aus früheren Jahren noch heute herumschlägt und sie stetig in Stil und Grammatik zu verbesern trachtet. Was besagt das über mein Bloggen? Nichts anderes, als dass ich hauptsächlich für mich selbst blogge. Klingt egozentrisch, mönchisch vielleicht, aber ich habe tatsächlich erst einmal nur mein Gedanken- und Bilderarchiv ins Internet gelegt, damit ich mich in späteren Jahren daran erinnern kann, was ich gedacht und geliebt habe, was mich interessiert hat usf. Die größte Freude am Bloggen kann für mich nur entstehen, wenn mein geschriebenes Wort zuerst meine narzisstische Ader befriedigt 🙂 Das andere lesen, kommentieren, ist der Freude nächster Schritt. Es ist die wunderbare Überraschung, dass sie ähnliche Interessen haben, oftmals die gleichen Gedanken und Dinge verfolgen, die mir fern waren und denen ich nun aufgeschlossen gegenüber bin, um von ihnen zu lernen. Dann entsteht Austausch und Nähe, so natürlich und selbstverständlich, wie es in real life kaum möglich ist, und wenn, dann nur mit einem enormen Zeitaufwand versehen. Trotzdem bleibt es dabei: ich schreibe für mich, ich redigiere für mich, ich schreibe nicht auf ein fremdes Interesse hin, womit vermutlich die Anzahl meiner Leser steigen würde, die likes sich häuften und die Kommentare auch. Insofern ist das Bloggen kein Fegefeuer für mich, es ist eher der Himmel der Bedürfnisbefriedigung, meines Narzissmus und meines Mitteilungsbedürfnisses zugleich. Damit sind keine Verdienstabsichten verknüpft. Aber auch der zeitliche Aufwand hält sich in Grenzen, weil ich meine Posts erst reifen lasse. Der Hektik der wöchentlichen oder gar täglichen Veröffentlichungen entsage ich. ich gebe aber auch zu, dass die eigentliche Arbeit im Kommentieren liegt. Um den Austausch weiter zu fördern, Nähe und Vertrauen herzustellen und zu demonstrieren, dass man wirklich an dem interessiert ist, was andere an Schönem für uns Leser zu schaffen in der Lage sind.

    Liebe grüße zu den fab four in der kleinen Stadt am Meer.

    Achim

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, lieber Achim,
      herzlichen Dank für deinen ehrlichen, ausführlichen Kommentar. Das ist ja Glasperlenspielerei im Reinkultur, bloggen nur für sich. Es ist auch eine Befreiung vom Zwang der sozialen Medien in bestimmter Weise die Illusion der Kommunikation zu schaffen. Oh sorry, das ist vielleicht zu zynisch ausgedrückt, um falsch zu sein 😉 Anyway, deine Art des Bloggens ist auf der einen Seite Narzissmus, den die Narzissten unter uns sehr verdammen, auf der anderen Seite auch wieder nicht, denn zum Narzissmus gehört doch die Anerkennung von außen als Spiegel.
      Ja, das Kommentieren und der Besuch von anderen ist die Arbeit, die Pflicht des Bloggens, die wir uns durch unsere Arbeitsaufteilung erleichtert haben.
      Deine Blogposts lesend wird uns sogleich klar, dass du dich wohltuend nicht anbiederst und etwas Elitäres schon durch deinen Stil vermittelst, das uns anspricht, worüber wir aber auch bisweilen kichern müssen (sorry!).
      Ganz liebe Grüße nach good old Germany
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  85. Beautiful images, as usual. I can tell you why I so enjoy your blog and in that way (a survey of one) explain why your blogging is important and worthwhile: It’s a peek into how the world is seen through someone else’s eyes, someone I respect. I get to see places I never would otherwise. I enjoy your take on the world that may or may not be mine but is always valued.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jacqui
      yes, we agree: Blogging makes us aware of other possibilities to see the world (and ourselves). Well, that’s what communication is basically about, isn’t it? In this respect blogging is just the contrary to narcissism as it helps seeing other perspectives.
      Thank you very much for commenting.
      Wishing you a great day
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Thanks a lot, dear Abrie
      we love “Klaus Monk” – we suppose that will be his new nickname.
      Thanks for liking our post 🙂 🙂
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  88. Hallo Ihr Lieben, ja, die Frage nach Sinn und Unsinn des Bloggens stellt sich immer wieder mal. Ich bin selbst durch verschiedene Phasen gegangen und weiß, wie wichtig mir das Bloggen ist. Die Zahlen, ob Klicks oder Likes, spielen dabei eher eine untergeordnete Rolle. Was ich schätze, ist der Austausch. Ich lese viele interessante Dinge in Blogs, die mich zum Nachdenken bringen. Und ich hoffe, ich zeige auch meinen Lesern immer wieder mal eine neue Blickwinkel. Missen möchte ich das nicht. Aber ich setze ganz klare Prioritäten. Wenn keine Zeit ist, dann ist keine Zeit. Man kann nicht alles lesen und auf meinem Blog, der ja mein Hobby ist, mag ich auch nicht unter Zeitdruck schreiben. Das mache ich schon im Beruf zur Genüge. Ich denke, es ist wichtig, immer mal wieder innezuhalten und zu überprüfen, ob die Balance für einen persönlich noch stimmt. Ganz liebe Grüße aus der Wüste, Peggy

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Peggy
      Schön, von dir zu hören. Wir hoffen, dass du dich gut eingelebt hast.
      Wir sehen das ähnlich wie du, Bloggen ist Austausch. Es hilft, sein Scheuklappendenken zu überwinden, und wir finden, es bildet auch. Nach einem kurzen Ausflug zu Instagram wissen wir, was wir an Bloggen haben, obwohl Dina und Selmachen, die mehr den Bildern verbunden sind, jetzt hier und bei Instagram aktiv sind.
      Was gibt es sonst noch Neues bei uns? Wir machten eine atemberaubend schöne Tour in den höchsten Norden Schottlands, worüber wir hiervor ausführlich bloggten. Ansonsten pflegen wir der Muße, den Garten mit unserem eifrigen Gärtner, der sehr originell ist, und das Haus. Wie du wahrscheinlich weißt, hatten wir einen Bilderbuchsommer hier. So kämpfen wir gerade mit Massen von Obst 🍉
      Liebe Grüße von Merry Ol’ England
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  89. Pingback: Purgatory of Blogging — The World according to Dina – Suman D. Freelancer

  90. I don’t think blogging has to produce acceleration and unrest, but the tendency is surely there. For me, it’s about sharing images and ideas with a community of people across the globe, something that would be hard to do as satisfactorily in other times. Tranquility actually CAN arise out of posting something I feel good about, and out of the exchanges that come with readers’ reactions. I do get overwhelmed by the quantity that comes to my inbox. That’s something for me to work on. It’s always good to keep questioning, I’m glad you’re putting the questions out there!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Bluebrightly
      We decided to blog in a relaxed way, especially after this post that is helping us to reflect why and how we blog, and of course how other people blog on WP. For us it was important to decide to blog fortnightly only. That gives us enough time to produce a post we and our readers are happy with. As you write, that’s rewarding.
      Thank you very much for commenting 🙏🙏🙏
      All the best
      💃👭🚶
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • We hope very much leading you the best way. At least for us it was much more relaxing deciding to blog every fortnight only. We blogged weekly before but it became more and more stressful for us and taking all fun away.
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  92. Your photographs inserted in between your passages about blogging are lovely. It is funny 5at I read your blog post now, after returning home from vacation. I spent a week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I tried for the first time to prepare a blog post about each day’s activities, while on vacation. That task (and yes it was a task) lasted 3 days. I found my vacation time began to equate to work; therefore, I stopped preparing blog posts and enjoyed rest of my vacation. Why do I blog? I used to email family and friends what was going on in my life. I decided a blog would be a more interesting way to convey that information to family and friends. I made the blog public. People whom I didn’t know took an interest in what I was writing. I added their blogs to my list of blogs read. Well, writing for others and reading. What others write gets to be very time consuming. I often have to remind myself why I blog 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Linda
      Well, blogging is to show others a piece of your world 🌎 and read about other views and standpoints. We understand actually not really our topic before we have written about it and we think 💭 writing.
      Wishing you a great 👍 Day
      💃👭🚶
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  94. Gorgeous post, Fab Four of Cley!
    Maybe the mission of a blogger, sorry monk it should be,
    is to learn more
    not earn more?
    😉
    and therefore you continue to stay a happy storyteller with awesome illustrations?
    🙂
    Klem Hjerter ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hej, dear Hjerter ❤️
      We love it: to learn more instead of earn more 👍👍👍
      Indeed that’s it!
      All the commentaries to this post will make us happily go on blogging.
      Thanks 🙏 for commenting.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      💃👭🚶
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  95. Sometimes I blog for recognition but mostly I just want to share my extensive knowledge of mental illness/life/humor/sadness. If one person is touched by a post then it is all worth it. I have made wonderful true friends on WordPress.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Of course sharing is one of the advantages of blogging. In one way or the other everyone has a special knowledge and to share it makes a lot of sense. That makes blogging an educating activity.
      Thanks 🙏 and wishing you a happy 😃 weekend
      💃🚶👭
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Of course sharing is one of the advantages of blogging. In one way or the other everyone has a special knowledge and to share it makes a lot of sense. That makes blogging an educating activity.
      Thanks 🙏 and wishing you a happy 😃 weekend
      💃🚶👭

      Liked by 1 person

  97. Interesting you should raise these questions as it’s something I’ve been pondering on myself. I have a great need for peace and tranquillity at present, but also to communicate through art and writing. I am withdrawing somewhat from social media to gain some equilibrium but also to connect with nature and my desire to expand my art towards healing nature and places of conflict. Thanks for your thoughts.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • You are very welcome.
      Usually the social media distract you and interfere with your attention. We need regularly times free of social media as well. If you want it or not they cause stress.
      All the best
      💃🚶👭
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  98. Liebe Dina, lieber Klausbernd,
    hier noch ein paar ergaenzende Gedanken: Bloggen ist fuer mich auf keinen Fall Selbstzweck – hatte ich ja schon haeufiger gesagt. Und deswegen – auch wenn das nicht vorherrschend ist bei mir – schiele ich eben doch immer wieder auf meine Statistik, auf die Besucherzahlen usw. Natuerlich freue ich mich dann, wenn sie zeigen, dass meine Artikel Beachtung finden.
    In diesem Sinne danke an die liebe Dina, die mit ihren vielen Aufrufen von Artikeln und Bildern (auf meinen beiden Blogs) und mit ihren fruchtbaren [hier muss ich immer aufpassen, dass ich einen naheliegenden Buchstabendreher vermeide! :D] Kommentaren in den vergangenen Tagen fuer eine “schoene” Statistik gesorgt hat. Aber ernsthaft, liebe Dina: danke fuer all’ die guten Ratschlaege. Unser Gedankenaustausch hat mir enorm viel gebracht. Hoffentlich schlaegt sich das demnaechst auch in meinen Fotos nieder und in den Bildern, die ich in meinen Blogs poste.
    Liebe Gruesse an Euch alle im kleinen Dorf am grossen Meer, und habt ein eines Wochenende,
    Pit

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Lieber Pit,
      also wir beäugen 👀 auch emsig unsere Statistik, und ich denke mir, dass das jeder Blogger macht. Bei denen, die das behaupten nicht zu tun, ist wohl der Wunsch Vater des Gedankens.
      Da halten wir fest unsere Daumen, dass deine Statistiken boomen und dein Herz ❣ lacht.
      Dann mach‘s mal gut 😊
      Ganz liebe 💕 Grüße
      💃🚶👭
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  100. Superb photos and a thought provoking post. Makes me wonder. Blogging for me (I thought) was a way to be heard but without an audience that isnt possible is it? And ‘likes’ are not always gratifying for sometimes i have gotten a like on a 10 min read post within a few seconds of posting. That makes me wonder even more 😀 So likes are out. Comments, interaction and feedback while I polish my modest skills at storytelling is what makes me a dedicated blogger.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Dahlia
      we agree, it’s the comments, the communication, the makes a blog lively and this is why we like blogging. But on the other hand we sometimes don’t really know what to comment and then the LIKE is a way to show I have visited you and liked what you produced but I have no time to answer or I don’t know what to answer.
      Wishing you a happy week
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  101. Well Fab Four, you have certainly outdone yourselves from all perspectives with this one. First and foremost the photography is truly stunning this week. Dina, you have honestly delivered some amazing images of this place. Did you use HDR technology on your interior shots? They’re amazing. As for the thoughts on blogging, I understand exactly what you’re pondering. But personally, to me it’s more about exposure than counting likes and comments (altho of course we all do). We work hard at our writing and photography and want to have it be seen and understood. Hasn’t that always been the goal of artists through the centuries? I think it also pushes us to improve with each post. Whatever the case, congratulations on this one, it’s a stunner!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Tina
      thank you sooo much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      You made the point, everyone producing something wants it to be seen by others. That’s human. Blogging is communication and communication needs receivers or you can even see blogging as a kind of art and art needs to be presented. For us the number of comments – well meaningful comments instead of “beautiful”, “feat” or something similar – and LIKES show us how our product is received and seen. That’s an important information we need for improving.
      Wishing you a wonderful week
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Dear Tina, thanks a million for your kind words, it’s highly appreciated.
      As for the indoor shot it was a sunny day that covered the abbey in a magical light. When we walked inside I knew immediately this would be perfect for photography. I have no experience with HDR, but I’D love to try it out and learn more about. For this two shots I used Lightroom and the Nik collection; Color Efex Pro.I used very little, maybe 10-20% from the first layer only, from the detail extractor and then pro contrast. In LR I have dps presets for various themes, but there’s always a matter of adjusting the sliders and I still haven’t found the perfect workflow for myself. Slowly I’m getting there and I find it most interesting to see what other photographers do, try and test. Like you did recently with Topaz. Thank you very much for looking into our work! Warm greetings to SC. x

      Liked by 1 person

    • Nik has a nice HDR tool. It basically lightens the dark areas and darkens the highlights to give a better overall light profile to you shot. The best HDR photos are made by combining multiple captures of the same shot using +/- and merging them together in software. Subtlety is the key tho. Apparently you didn’t need anything fancy for that gorgeous shot!

      Liked by 1 person

  103. Really beautiful and peaceful photos. It is interesting to delve into blogging and the reasons that we do it. Those reasons can of course vary from informing, sharing creativity, or even writing as a form of therapy for oneself and a way to perhaps encourage others. In any case, it is truly difficult to keep up with all the social media outlets these days, that combined with this busy, bustling world would make us desire to walk in the footsteps of the monks long ago.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi,
      I just see, you are an author too. Well, we as authors wan to be read. My agents and publishers always pushed me to get more readers with every new book that is published. In a way it’s not that different with blogging. We want to be seen with our texts and photography and, as I wrote above, that gives a feedback we can use to get better or more successful.
      The social media are disturbing, there blogging is a positive exception for me because it leaves me time to react. Usually all this senseless information and boring pictures are asking for a fast answer.
      Wishing you a happy week
      Klausbernd
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  104. Liebe fab4s, ich habe wieder eine Frage…sagt mal, das Wort Emotion, war es zuvor das Wort Inmotion?
    Gab es das Wort in der englischen Sprache?
    Es ist nicht so wichtig und hat Zeit…kann noch einige Stunden/Tage darüber nachdenken, warum ich das wissen möchte…
    Schöne Woche!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Lebe Pia
      das Wort “inmotion” gibt es nicht in der offiziellen Sprache, weder im Deutschen noch im Englischen, wo es natürlich “in motion” gibt. “Emotion” kommt aus dem Latein “emovere” sich herausbewegen. Die gesamte Wortgeschichte, wie das Wort vom Latein über das Französische ins Deutsche kam, findest du in einem etymologischen Wörterbuch.
      Schön Woche
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Lebe schön! Wunderbar!! Das mache ich!!! Macht ihr mit?!!!!
      Heute denke ich mir: Es gibt so viel zu lesen, aber wo sind die Leser…
      Außerdem denke ich über die DNS und RNS nach, bin aber noch lange nicht zu einem Ergebnis gekommen…
      Jonas geht gerade wieder zu einer Physis-Prüfung, heute muss er die richtigen Kabel legen für irgend so eine Elektrotherapie…
      o schreck!
      Ich mache mal wieder das Medi-Programm von Deepak mit, heute diente das Mantra zur Verbesserung der Kommunikation und Beachtung der Wünsche anderer…wenn ich es richtig verstanden habe…

      Enjoy! Liebe Grüße!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi, liebe Pia
      sag mal, warum denkst du eigentlich über Dinge nach, die hohes Spezialistenwissen erfordern? Als Laie, sorry, wenn ich das so sage, kann man sich doch gar keine Meinung über die DNS anmaßen. klar, es gibt populistische Schriften darüber, aber dieses Halb- bis Viertelwissen führt doch eher zu Spinnereien als zu Erkenntnissen. So war es doch genauso mit der post-modernen Physik, die in populistischer Weise derart angeboten wurde, dass sich echte Physiker nur totlachten. Die chemischen Voraussetzungen zum Verständnis jener Schloss und Schlüsselfunktionen großer Eiweißmoleküle sind ja nur die allerersten Grundlagen, auf die ein Verständnis der Doppelhelix aufbaut. Also, be careful: Halbwissen ist schlimmer als Nichtwissen. Man muss auch nicht alles wissen.
      Liebe Grüße
      Klausbernd

      Like

    • Vielen Dank für die Antwort, ich möchte nur so weit kommen, dass ich mir nicht etwas aufschwatzen lasse, das auf Halb- bis Viertelwissen aufbaut…als Tänzerin und Yogini interessiere ich mich für meinen Körper. Außerdem habe ich viele “Studierte” unterschiedlicher Spezialgebiete um mich, die ich fragen kann…deshalb.
      Vielen Dank!

      Like

  105. Lovely post and great questioning about why we blog?
    Adding my two cents to the numerous response your post elicited, I should say we blog because it’s part of our creative, and artistic nature we channel through blogging.
    After all we all posses that spark of the original Creator, as some mystics had pondered through their meditations over the ages, as to why God created existence, rather than not:

    I was a hidden treasure; I loved to be known. Hence I created the world so that I would be known

    Hadith Qudsi that has a very prominent role in Islamic mysticism and Islamic philosophy. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon,
      thank you very much for your kind commentary 🙂 🙂
      We agree, blogging is a kind of expressing one’s creativity. As we are all creative in one way or the other we need a means to express it. Blogging is one way.
      Wishing you a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  106. Ich bin spät, oh je, aber so ist das eben, wenn ich Blogpause mache 😉 – eure Zweifel sind meine Zweifel und doch ist bloggen auch immer wieder Freude, Austausch und ja, auch Anerkennung, warum es verschweigen? Aber mehr noch zählt für mich die gegenseitige Inspiration und der schon benannte Austausch.
    Andererseits kenne ich nur zu gut auch das Suchtpotential des Ganzen – in meiner Blogpause habe ich ein anderes Verhalten mit diesem Medium geübt und noch übe ich weiter, ich sagte es schon oft: weniger ist mehr, sicherlich auch mehr Qualität. Das Leben in Echtzeit geht immer vor, nicht wahr?!
    Ihr Lieben, euer Artikel inspiriert mich und schenkt mir Freude.
    Herzliche Grüße aus dem bunten Herbstwald heraus
    Ulli

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Guten Tag, lebe Ulli,
      gerade kommen wir von einem langen Spaziergang am Meer nach Hause. Es herrscht eine wunderschöne, angenehm melancholische Herbststimmung vor.
      Alle soziale Medien einschließlich Bloggen sind darauf angelegt, ein Suchtpotential zu erzeugen, dem man sich schwer nur entziehen kann. Wir z.B. müssen stets nach em Frühstück spazierengehen oder im Garten arbeiten, bevor wir in unseren Blog gucken, sonst vertrödeln wir zu viel Zeit dort und alles andere kommt zu kurz. Unser Devise lautet, erst alles Wichtige machen und dann erst bloggen.
      Schön, dass dich unser Artikel inspiriert hat.
      Vom noch warmen, aber herbstlichen Meer herzliche Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Ja, wir haben auch erst bis jetzt im Garten gearbeitet, was ja im Grunde uns viel mehr gut tut, als vor dem Bildschirm zu sitzen.
      Liebe Grüße vom Meer auf dem Berg
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  107. One of the eternal questions to consider: why we do what we do. As you so poetically put it, when it comes to social media it can be easy to get sucked into the whirlpool of numbers and “popularity.” Hopefully we blog in order to connect with each other, in ways we could not have hoped to do without the internet. Hopefully we blog in order to share with one another the beauty of living in the questions.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  110. What an extraordinary set of photos Dina! They all have a painterly quality to them.
    As to what do bloggers work for? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately Klaus. Especially since I’ve been struggling to keep up due to personal commitments. Haven’t quite come up with an answer. The ‘likes’ and the social media rankings (in my case) I think are mostly just ego boosters 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot, dear Madhu
      our answer to blogging: We first do everything that has to be done and everything we like like gardening, walking along the beach etc. and we blog after we have done all this. For us our life outside blogging is more important than blogging. But nevertheless blogging has a kind of addicting quality, well, is designed to get you hooked.
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • @equinoxio
      indeed a like just means hi! and isn’t it nice to greet someone … but they are ego-boosters as well and everybody needs a certain dose of ego-boosters, we suppose.
      You meet friends everywhere again and again in the digital world
      Greetings
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  111. What a thought provoking post 🙂 First – nice photos to illustrate!
    Why do I Blog? Because I want to show the world some things that are important to me. Do I do it because I want lots of followers or likes to boost my ego? I suspect that my recent ‘Truck Sim’ posts answer that question – only of interest to friends of my site. So why do I Blog?

    I feel that a blog gives me the opportunity to show my photographs in a context specific way – something that Flickr or Instagram can never do. It gives me the space to share my poetry that otherwise would never get the air of a readership. It has allowed me to write about football in the past in a way that the official club media cannot – very appreciated at the time by people I never knew were reading my blog! I write about my transport hobby and find a surprising number of people who find it interesting.

    I’m aware that having lots of followers means very little – 95% will have passed through and gone off elsewhere because their interest was fuelled by another blogging challenge where showing they’d visited so many sites earned them points. I value my regular visitors, whether they comment or not. I try to make sure that I maintain that relationship even through the times when I can see that they are having trouble in the real world – because they are friends and that’s another thing blogging gives to us all. I have learnt so much about other cultures and peoples that I can only view blogging as being a positive.

    You’re one of my less regular visitors and all the more welcome for passing through. Equally, I don’t come to visit your blog as often as I would like. Isn’t that part of the blogging problem – we never have the time to visit everyone that follows us? We have or rather I have, to pick and choose so that it’s possible to talk with at least some of the people that this wonderful blogging media gives us the opportunity to talk to.

    I really enjoyed your post and felt that I should respond. Best wishes for the future 🙂

    Martin

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Martin,
      thank you very much for your comment in great detail 🙂 🙂
      For us the number of likes and comments is a rough measure of how well our post is written. As our editors and publishers always said that the sales of our books show how professionally the text is written. We write for a public to read our texts and therefore we have to meet our reader’s taste. You see we were professional writers and we still blog like we wrote our books.
      Like most successful bloggers we have a community we know and we are happy to produce a post for their liking. Blogging is not so much for our own liking but rather for serving our visitors. We write for ourselves in our personal diaries which we wouldn’t publish as their style and the topics are not thought through and composed to an end.
      We think there are two big groups of bloggers, the one blogs for being read by many and the other who is primary blogging for themselves. Of course these are tendencies only and most of bloggers are somewhere in-between. But, of course, if one publishes a picture or a text he/she wants to be seen or read, that’s what’s publishing all about. If one don’t one shouldn’t publish.
      If your posts are well made followers and visitors will visit your blog again and again. We suppose that comments say more than likes, but on the other hand we often just like because we don’t know what to say or we don’t have time but want to say, we visited you and liked your post. It’s something that Levy-Strauss called a ritual which is important for understanding and establishing a communication.
      Having lots of followers means a lot: It means you are that professional in arranging your post that people like to see and read it. And as we said that’s the aim of every communication – to grab the visitors attention. That’s the first lesson our dear Master taught his students in his creative writing courses. With photography it’s the same. Visitors only pass by and will not return if your presentation is boring.
      Anyway these are some ideas triggered by your commentary.
      Thanks again and wishing you a happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Sorry, we forgot to say it really inspired us reading your comment and we feel honored that you took so much time writing down your ideas.
      Yes, and you are right, the dilemma of blogging is that we can’t visit regularly all the people following us and who run great blogs. It’s a pity but time is limited and there is a life beyond blogging …
      We wish you good luck with your blog.
      Happy blogging
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  112. I blog because all artists must have an online ‘presence’ and as a handicapped person it is a delightful way to see the world, to interact with people from different countries and see how we are similar as well as how we differ. I have a young friend though who makes her living from her blog, it has spun into a book and regular TV appearances. She is doing so well her husband quit his job and joined her ‘company’.
    Perhaps I’m doing it wrong.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Dunelight
      well, very few people make money with blogging. They are usually lifestyle bloggers, actually I only know lifestyle bloggers who are making money with their blog. That’s not our style and we are not young enough.
      The answer to your question is: start lifestyle and fashion blogging.
      Good luck!
      Usually one makes money with blogging by selling advertisement. If you have a stable group of followers of at least 10.000 and more you can start thinking about it.
      Anyway, we are not specialists for making blogging pay. Your friend surely knows better.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  113. If you didn’t blog then we would all miss out on seeing Dina’s wonderful photographs, the Master’s many diverse opinions and the Bookfayries mischief.
    That’s all I am going to say, except to ask what is it about those magnificent vaulted ceilings that is so captivating?
    Stay well Fab Four
    Jude xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • We decided to go on blogging, especially after been at Instagram for a short while, well, our dear Master was. Dina is still active there.
      Well, those ceilings may remind us on our sheltered life in the womb.
      Thank you very much and stay happy 😃
      💃👭🚶
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  115. This I just found on https://acoastalplot.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/autumn-glow-and-falling-out-of-love-with-instagram/
    “If you’re on Instagram, you can’t fail to have noticed the increase in ‘sponsored content’, otherwise known as adverts, and the fact that you don’t get to see what the people you follow post when they post it. Sometimes a pic will appear a few days after the event. I’ve also noticed an increase in ‘advertorials’ among the accounts that I follow. I’m getting extremely cheesed off with this. I loved the immediacy of Instagram, the inspiring photo with a bit of text, little windows onto other parts of the country/world, little insights into others’ lives – it’s quicker than blogging and a lovely way to get a dose of inspiration when you have a few minutes to scroll through photos. I like being able to quickly share how gorgeous the sea/sky/etc is looking today, or cake, or things on my mind, etc, without many words. And, as through this blog, I’ve found a lovely community of like-minded people.
    If I choose to follow someone, I want to see what they post when they post it; I do not want my feed curated by some algorithm. I also do not want to see adverts and I find it irritating/disappointing when people mention their stats, how many followers they have, how their grid is looking (or changing their content in order to appeal to more people) and I really don’t like people trying to promote stuff because they’ve been paid to do so. I don’t care what type of coffee they’re drinking (because they’ve been paid to promote it), I don’t care what their kids are wearing because they’ve been sent a load of clothes, I don’t want a review of an event or book because they’ve been given a freebie in return for promoting it. They’ve sold out to the man. I’m so cross about it that I’ve unfollowed some accounts and I ‘report’ every advert (when I have time!). Do they think we’re fools? Or sheep? Or both?
    What I want is honest, authentic, genuine recommendations (‘I’ve just read this book from the library, it’s brilliant!’), or just beautiful photos. I’m thoroughly fed up with Instagram being commercialised. It’s obviously Facebook’s fault. Bloody behemoth social media companies; I hope they eat themselves. I used to love Instagram and now I don’t.
    You may wonder why I don’t just take myself off IG altogether. Well, I might but there ARE some genuine, funny, charming and inspiring accounts that I’d miss. For the time being I’ll try to ‘curate’ my own account!”
    Thanks for these words! This is one of the reasons why I am contemplating to leave Instagram as well.
    All the best
    Klausbernd

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  116. Well, 437 humans “recognized” your post. 🙂 (Plus one)
    A good question I have asked myself: why do we blog? My initial objective has little to do with the current reason.
    And that is Sharing. You share your thoughts, ideas, ramblings, images… And I share mine.
    The magic of blogging is that we can communicate/share albeit briefly (we could use a beer and a small table to pursue this conversation) with people anywhwere. From Europe to latin America to Africa to Asia to Down under et al.
    So… thank you, merci, viel dank for your thoughts.
    (Oh you haven’t really answered your own question?)
    take care

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Well, we did indeed answer the question why we are blogging in several answers to the comments above: First of all writing about some topic we are interested in and getting a feedback makes us understand this topic much better. We learn a lot from blogging, from writing down our ideas combining them with pictures and from thinking about the comments and answering them. To see another standpoint is important for us. On the other hand our dear Master was a professional writer used to write every day for about 6 hours. Now he is retired but writing is a lifestyle for him, he seem to need it. As a scientist he was specialised on illuminated manuscript, on the connection of picture and text. Blogging is a modern form of combining iconographic and verbal information in a way that makes sense. We are experimenting on this blog with the connection of pictures and words which interests our beloved Dina, our photographer, as well.
      After having read all these comments we will happily go on blogging 🙂
      Cheers and all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  118. I have thousands and thousands of photographs accumulated (and still accumulating) on large hard drives. My nature photograph blog is one way to get the pictures out into the world (don’t hide your light under a bushel basket). I’ll admit, though, that diligent blogging often takes up too much time. It also begins to affect reality. On several occasions I’ve found myself out in nature and as soon as I’ve taken a picture my mind begins to fill with words to introduce that picture in a blog post. Another way of saying it is that the post begins to write itself.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Steve
      thanks a lot for commenting.
      Blogging has the tendency to take up too much time. It needs a kind of discipline not let the blogging take over your real life.
      A post writes itself, we know this as well. It’s a flow you get into. Actually the part of blogging we like most is choosing the pictures and writing the texts. Much more time consuming is visiting all our blogger friends.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  119. Good evening The Fab Four of Cley,
    First, I want to respond to the pictures. Photo 1 and 2, I love the colors, mystique and tranquility that radiate the pictures! Photo 3 and 4, I love the whole composition, it’s like a painting! En het portret van monnik Klaus vind ik prachtig! 🙂 Again,these are amazing pictures!
    To me, quality goes above quantity and I’m going for tranquility, though this easy going is said than done! I also have the idea that most people (especially young people) blog for the number of followers and likes than they really are interested in what is being bloged! Also I feel (and maybe also other bloggers) that I’m being punished by wordpress if we don’t pay for our site. (I have choose for the free site) It seems that my site is being sabotaged by wordpress so people don’t find my posts! I still have a lot of backlog because many bloggers post new blogs too soon! But I try to move on by my pace… And don’t let the courage fall, not yet! I wish all of you a nice weekend and success with blogging in tranquility 🙂 😉
    Best regards, Heidi

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Heidi 🙂 🙂
      Great that you like Dina’s photography!
      We agree, many bloggers post too often and one can only hardly keep track. We love to move at our pace as well. Therefore we only blog once every fortnight. We blog on a free side here as well, but we payed for the theme we use.
      Wishing you happy blogging in tranquility as well and a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  120. DYNAMITE! Luck has a funny way of coming into people’s life. It follows hard working people wherever they go and does a no show for all the slackers. Congrats, you deserved to be the lucky one. Thanks for stopping by!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  123. If blogging becomes a purgatoty you have to do something about it as this depends entirely on yourself. For me blogging is a way of connecting to like-minded people and of getting a message across (in my case my love of gardening/nature/wildlife and hence the need to treasure and protect it). I’m not looking for lots of likes and followers and if I don’t feel like writing, I won’t. It’s supposed to be fun and not a burden after all.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Annette
      thanks for commenting.
      It was not so much about the subjective and personal side of blogging but about the power of the general structure of the media.
      Have a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  127. Hallo!

    Sehr schöne Fotos!

    Interessante Fragen, die hier aufgeworfen wurden.
    Ich fing im Zuge eines ‘Project 365’ mit dem Bloggen an – durch das öffentliche Zeigen der Bilder brachte ich mich dazu, nicht einfach mit dem Projekt aufzuhören.
    Als das Projekt nach einem Jahr fertig war, hatte ich mich so an das Bloggen gewöhnt, dass ich ganz natürlich einen neuen Blog startete, um weiterhin zu posten.

    Ich bin zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass man nicht bloggen sollte, um dem eigenen Ego zu schmeicheln. Man sollte m. E. nicht Zufriedenheit über externe Anerkennung suchen.
    Mir fallen sponan drei “legitime” (natürlich kann ja jeder machen, was er will) Gründe ein:
    1) Man bloggt, weil man ein Berufsfotograf ist und das Bloggen für Kunden sorgt.
    oder
    2) Man bloggt, weil es einem Spaß macht.
    oder
    3) Man bloggt, um einfach zu bloggen.

    Bei mir ist es eine Mieschung aus 2) und 3). Das ist ein wenig wie bei der Zen-Praxis. Man sollte möglichst kein Ziel verfolgen – einfach “sitzen, um zu sitzen”.
    Also Zen-Praxis bzw. Bloggen zum Selbstzweck. Nicht denken, tun. 😉

    Viele Grüße,

    Timo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Lieber Timo,
      vielen Dank für deinen ausführlichen Kommentar.
      Nicht dem eigenen Ego zu schmeicheln ist ja eine Herausforderung in einer narzisstischen Gesellschaft. Dazu kommt ja, dass Bloggen einen gewissen Narzissmus voraussetzt, nämlich eine gewisse Freude etwas von sich öffentlich zu zeigen – und potentiell einem weltweiten Publikum. Wenn ich mich beim Bloggen kritisch beobachte, schwingen immer mehr oder weniger bewusste Gedanken mit, wie das wohl ankommen wird. Als Berufsautor bin ich gewohnt, beim Scheibe sets meine Rezipienten vorm Augen zu haben, denen das gefallen oder die es zumindest interessieren sollte. Ich vermute, bei der voyeuristischen Kunst des Fotografierens ist man eher weniger narzisstisch. Auf jeden jeden Fall, ich blogge unter anderm auch, weil mir die Anerkennung gut tut. Allerdings am besten gefällt mir deine dritte l’art pour l’art Lösung, Bloggen um des Bogens Willen. Ich glaube, dass für Viele, die in unserem Umkreis bloggen, um des Bloggens Willen bloggen – Bloggen an sich im Kantschen Sinne 😉 Zen des Bloggens gefällt mir ausnehmend gut, das wäre zugleich auch ein feines Gestaltungsprinzip des Blogs.
      Nicht tun, ohne denken 😉
      Frohes Wochenende
      Klausbernd

      Liked by 1 person

  130. I haven’t read all the comments, so maybe someone raised this, but although the monks withdrew from the world, they also depended on it for money in various forms–donations, pilgrims, bequests. So they too had to play to the public, however openly or circumspectly.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Ellen
      I had to study the everyday life in the Middle Ages when I wrote my thesis about illuminated manuscript. The monks and nuns lived quite differently. There were communities that went for self sufficiency and there cloisters know for a grand life style, some where dependent on goods – rather goods than money – from the outside for their frugal life style other were extremely ascetic and a closed self sufficient society. At least so it was on the continent from Carolingan times up to the high Middle Ages and even longer.
      The big cloisters made the public play to them therefore during the peasant revolts one of the targets were those monasteries.
      Umberto Eco is one of the very few novelists who gives a realistic picture of an affluent monastery in “The Name of the Rose” whereas Ken Follett “Pillars of the Earth” is rather dodgy.
      One has to see we can only see the Middle Ages through our ‘modern’ eyes and there is – unfortunately – a lot of pseudo-scientific literature around about the medieval life.
      Thanks for commenting 🙂 🙂
      We are wishing you a great holiday season and all the best, happiness and health for the years to come
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  132. Hello, this is my first comment on your blog and I have followed your blog too. Perhaps see that not as something to feed the ego, but as something I have done for myself as I have decided I might learn something and be brought closer to the rest of the world through your words and images. If that doesn’t eventuate, well then there is nothing lost. You do not need to follow me. Some of us expect nothing in return. Does it matter how many followers and likes you have so long as you remain true (to whatever you hold dear)? Are there not some issues outside of oneself that would benefit from calm and considered attention? If you feel that you must be professional with a view to your reader, isn’t that just being true to yourself? 🙂 I am a relatively new blogger. When a very talented person followed me, my immediate reaction was one of how on earth I could live up to whatever standard I had set by which they had decided to follow me in the first place. Does that make sense? In the end, I decided that I could only be myself. Oh yes, I also blog because as I get older I am losing my vocabulary. ‘Thingy’ doesn’t cut it in the blogging world, so it is a good discipline for me. Best wishes to you all.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi, thank you very much for your commentary.
      It’s funny that you mention age, our dear Master is getting older, well like everyone, he is retired now, but used to writing. As writing was his job and lifestyle he is blogging now. We try to blog with a professional standard as we have the professional deformation being perfectionists. We love ❤️ it doing something perfect. It’s very rewarding for us and we like to be read and have some discussions on our blog.
      We know a lot of folks who are blogging for getting a lot of followers and likes. We like this as well, but nevertheless we do ‘our thing’.
      Well, now we are on a holiday in Cornwall and we have worked enough for today.
      With warm greetings from the cold sea 🌊
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Oh, wie süß, da habt Ihr gleich noch einmal versucht, uns als Werbeträger zu nutzen. Seid Ihr denn kurz vor der Pleite, dass Ihr das nötig habt? Aber viel Mut, sich derart zu outen.
      Für bessere Geschäfte
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  135. Pingback: Purgatory of Blogging – dhakad life

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