I know this space has been quiet. I haven’t written for months. And I did consider just… not coming back. It’s been an interesting few months, months during which I questioned my place here, and what, if anything, I had to contribute. I love reading others’ posts, and gleaning insights from their experiences and lives, but have questioned whether I was – or even could – add to the conversation in the same way. Was I just adding to the noise?
Yet I missed this space, and interacting – even in my limited ways – with others in this community.
So I am dipping a toe back in. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking since February – a low level midlife crisis, perhaps? – and considering what was, what is, and what will be. I don’t know how much of those experiences I will share, but there are some parts that I think are worth sharing (and that I am willing to share).
Some of my time was spent delving into some David Whyte content, so I leave this (short) post with a fragment from one of his three Sundays sessions… “How much time do you make for yourself to sit down and be quiet?” I’ve been quiet, so now will hope to share some words and thoughts with all of you soon. Take care, my friends.
Glad to see you back in this space <3
I’m glad to be back, too. It’s funny – I didn’t contribute (content) to any internet community for a long time, and now I feel like I’ve found the best community, one where people with very different experiences are welcomed and embraced. <3
My friend, you always add to the conversation with your lovely, thoughtful comments – and words on your blog. Sometimes we get into periods when we just don’t want to share, and that’s ok too, although I’ve missed your posts and it would be sad to see you go. (Honestly I thought you had decided to ditch your blog already when I saw the WordPress white screen of death!, good to see it up and running again)
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Susanne. <3 You are absolutely right - this was a period of not-sharing for me. For whatever reason, my focus shifted from the external to the internal. And yes, I'm sorry about the white screen of death. Thank goodness San said something in an email - it turns out that WordPress did something wonky with my themes. Whew.
Come on in, the water is fine!
Easiest question ever: do you have anything to add to the conversation? YES!!!
Parting thought: the internet is always here for us. It is allowed and recommended to take breaks.
Happy Friday!
Birchie, I love your parting thought. It’s so true – being engaged and interacting all the time is not healthy for any of us. The wonderful part is that this community recognizes that and then welcomes people back when they choose to engage again. Looking forward to contributing again… 🙂
I so appreciate your comments and insights. It’s ok to be quiet and let yourself bubble away – you’ve had a lot going on and sometimes not sharing can make it hard to write in these spaces – even about other topics – when your brain or heart or both are wrapped up in something else. But know you have folks like me out here in the interwebs thinking about you and sending you good thoughts!
I enjoy David Whyte; this popped into my head when I dropped by this page tonight and is a few of those lines that’ve given me a lot of solace these past few months: “ You are not a troubled guest on this earth, / you are not an accident amidst other accidents / you were invited from another and greater night / than the one from which you have just emerged.”
Take care, my friend; thinking of you!
Oh, Lindsay, what a lovely comment. Thank you. <3 Those lines have jumped out at me before, and to see them in this space, in a comment, reminds me that this community is really as lovely as I think it is. <3
Taking time to sit and be quiet is so valuable and so challenging. I look forward to reading whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
It is so challenging, isn’t it? And yet it seems as though we all need our periods of quiet… time to rejuvenate before emerging and connecting again. I have several posts on a kind of theme rolling through my head, so hope to share those soon <3
I would be interested in reading about your experience with the midlife crisis since I often think I may be a. Approaching or b. Already there. Looking forward to reading your thoughts.
I don’t know if it’s just my age, or the experience I just went through in (finally) achieving tenure, but for whatever reason, this year has been much more introspective for me than others. Maybe I finally felt like I had the time to do so? Who knows… but I do plan to write about it more. 🙂
So good to hear from you.
I am convinced you have something to contribute. So don’t use that argument to not write please.
Thank you, Tobia. Self-doubt is a constant companion of mine, and it means so much to see your comment and those from others. <3
I am glad you’re still here. You have been on my heart for a few days now, and I meant to check in, and then I saw this post! I hope you are doing okay, friend. You are a necessary part of this blogging world and your voice matters.
Thank you, Stephany. <3 That means a lot. It's been an interesting few months, for sure, but I am - I hope - coming out of it now. I hope I'm kind of finding my voice again and - more importantly, for this space -figuring out how to share it.
I legitimately never try to sit in the quiet. I have an audiobook, podcast, or *something* going almost always. This is one of the main reasons that meditation is so hard for me.
I do hope you never just delete your blog. We want to hear what you have to say, no matter how sporadically you say it!
So, I’m super-behind on your blog (shocking, I know) but I just read your post about how you finally realized you’re not lazy. And I wonder if this is similar – is listening to something more meditative for you? That is, does it focus your attention? I guess I’m thinking more “mindfulness” (although honestly, in the pop-psych world of the interwebs, who knows what the difference is anymore?) – but in my opinion, if you’re listening to something and focusing on it, well, that’s different than scrolling on social media or whatever. Just a thought. Ignore me, as always, if I’m not making sense.
I don’t think I’ll delete this space, ever – at least not for the foreseeable future. It’s really an online journal for me, not just of my thoughts, but of my interactions with all of you wonderful humans. 🙂
I’ve been unintentionally much quieter than I want to be, blog wise. Not reading much, not writing much. I guess I’ve been craving a bit of quiet as well. I don’t use a reader at all, I just pop by people’s blogs and see if they’ve posted, so I’m happy to find your post here today. I’m glad you’re feeling like posting again. We haven’t been blog friends for long, but I enjoy the glimpses that you show us. <3
I’m glad I am not the only one who goes through periods of not sharing, not writing, retreating into myself. For me, it’s usually due to All The Other Stuff going on in life, whether that’s on the surface in my daily life, or deeper, as I wrestle with bigger life questions. I love visiting your blog and getting a breath of fresh air from northern CA. Something about the way you write and what you share just, well, speaks to me. <3 I hope that your time of retreat feeds your soul.
Welcome back! I think you can just do you and if you post always or never, we will all be here either way. I had the same kind of feeling at one point. I started posting in 2006, really got a community going after a few years, and some years (2010-2012) was posting hundreds of times per year. Then I think I got a bit burned out and in 2018-2019 I posted 3 and 1 time respectively. I just felt like it became “work” where I had too many blogs to comment on and felt pressure to contribute…so I just stopped pretty much all together! However, in 2022 I started posting more regularly, even though a lot of my old followers had dropped off, and have found a new great community here again! So we don’t always get the same joy from things at all times, and that is okay!!
It does seem as if ‘you do you’ is kind of the order of the day. I will never be a daily or near-daily writer, but my writing frequency definitely waxes and wanes. It sometimes seems as though there are “types” of bloggers. Those who blog every day, or close to it. Those who have schedules and/or categories of posts that they tend to share. And those who randomly show up, sometimes sharing shallow daily bits and other times, diving deeper (*raises hand*).
I hope you do reach out when you land in the midwest! A meet up would be so much fun. 🙂