Imagine, if you will, the effects of a long, deliciously hot drenching shower.  The steam rising up creating a sauna like atmosphere. The comforting, soothing sounds of running water draining away the day's minor and major irritations. 

And...the puckered, drying out of skin no longer saoking up moisture, but being drained of it... The pickled wrinkles emerging first on hands and then feet and finally chapping and irritating the very body that it was meant to cleanse.

Too much of a good thing, even when it's pure water has that effect.  It's human nature to want to stay put forever.  But, as I re-discovered today, it's good to venture out, dry off a bit and explore the wider world of the blogosphere outside of Active Rain. 

It has taken me a awhile to really get into downloading the RSS feed of blogs I found interesting (I use the google reader) But it is slowly becoming a part of my routine.  Today, I found some really interesting articles, some rants vis a vie an on-going blog war and lots of great tidbits.  Here are a few that you might find worth perusing...

First stop was the Featured Post Section of Real Town Blogs...

Frances Flyn  Thorsen posted a video today about Foreclosure Fraud.  This excellent video is a powerful tool to fight fraud and help consumers understand how hucksters who claim to be there to "help" them are really stealing people's hard earned equity. Definitely worth watching...

Then I read one of the BEST Real Estate Market Trends Reports I have ever seen.  This was on par with the stuff that Gary Bolen writes about Lake Tahoe.  This post by Mary Pope-Handy is a fascinating...and I mean riveting account of the nuances which are often missed when we paint the real estate market with broad strokes.  If you think these reports are normally boring...this kind of analysis can restore your faith in all the GOOD Reasons why real estate agents who truly know their stuff will always be in hot demand.

Shoe String Branding has become one of my Favorite Marketing blogs.  This post about using images on Social Media and other aspects of on line marketing to intensify the effect of a branding effort is worth reading and thinking about how you can incorporate this strategy effectively.

When the new CEO of NAR, Dale Stinton stopped by this blog, he demonstrated that perhaps NAR is beginning to understand how significant the Blogging Movement really is for the real estate industry.  His comment, which is the bulk of the post is definitely worth checking out if you're interested in the thought processes of "the Powers that Be."

Getting out of the Rain and visiting other blogs is good for expanding one's horizons.  So is taking time OFF from blogging period...from time to time.  I started the practise about 6 months ago of not Blogging at all at least one day a week.  It's my time to refresh & reconnect from the distortion that can sometimes creep up on us when we are on line. 

I also find my balance in the following:  Reading good books AND most importantly relating and talking to people who are not behind a computer screen on a regular basis.  Otherwise, I think it's easy to become puckered up and skewed in our perspective on life, business and a whole lot of other things.  Somewhat like spending way too much time in the shower...

Picture of shower is courtesy of jurvetson'sphotostream on flickr.

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