First, if you came here thanks to Engie and her wonderful blog, welcome! And to those of you wondering who and what I am talking about, Engie is an amazing blogger who lives quite near me, has helped drag me out into the real world several times, and is celebrating the 20th (!!!) anniversary of her blog this year. To celebrate, Engie has requested guest posts from bloggers in our little blogger community, and for some strange reason, she asked me to write one. It went up on Sunday, and I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments and meeting some new-to-me bloggers to add to my ever-growing blogroll. So, if you don’t yet read Engie’s blog, please make your way there. She reads widely (and voraciously), writes thorough and insightful book reviews, and has the most amazing cat (Zelda, with the floofiest fur you’ve ever seen), and dog (Hannah, who has the best – seriously, the best – doggie expressions I have ever seen. “Hannah’s disdain” should be a portrait in a gallery somewhere, it portrays such emotion…). And if you’re looking to engage with a lovely community of supportive, positive bloggers who actually write about real life? Check out the other guest posts in the series and the comments on them, too. 🙂
And now to face the hard truth. I am dealing with some inertia, friends. Serious inertia. In my work life, personal life, and (obviously) writing life. I know this about myself. And yet I persist in my inertial (is that a word? if it’s not a word, it should be) state. I am trying to build momentum in all areas, and I’m succeeding, to a degree.
Finally, in the past few months, a few things have happened that have started to – slowly – get me moving. Perhaps most important has been going through two of David Whyte’s Three Sundays series. In them, David shares his wisdom about finding your path, and experiencing breakthroughs. Each has been what I need to hear, when I need to hear it. The books I’ve been reading have reminded me that we (as in, we humans) do better when we focus on the things that matter most. That a longer to do list is not a better to do list. That it’s possible to feel joy in many ways, and not everyone experiences joy in the same way. The list goes on, but you get the idea.
I find joy in writing here and engaging with all of you. Why am I surrendering to my inertia and not writing here more? Good question. It certainly doesn’t make me happy (in fact, it makes me sad). And it’s easy to remedy! The answer, of course, is to write more.
I was searching for quotes on inertia (you know me!) and found one I’d saved from a blog I read back in 2015. DefinitelyRA was a wonderful blogger who no longer blogs, but way back 9 years ago, she shared a quote from Maya Angelou that I had never read before: “Let us live so we will not regret years of useless virtue, and inertia, and timidity.”
It seems that’s a better option, don’t you think? So here’s to ditching inertia and timidity (and, while we’re at it, useless virtue), and showing up more, writing more, and doing more of the things that I know will make me happy, whether that’s taking donations to the thrift shop (they’ve been in my bedroom for months now…), writing manuscripts, or anything else. I can’t promise I’ll be here every day. After all, I’ve made these types of pledges before and not held them up. But this time seems a bit different. I hope.
I’ll end with a quote from one of David Whyte’s recent sessions: What is the life I have been refusing all along?
Don’t refuse the life that makes you happy, my friends. Be well.
I loved seeing you pop up on Engie’s blog both as a guest poster and also because you’ve been part of such wonderful blogging adventures lately!
Ooof – inertia is tough. That said, I think we can FEEL like we’re being inert when in reality we’re moving forward. Sometimes we need to not always be in motion and society at large suggests there is no growth happening without some outward manifestation of that growth.
The fact you’ve just made tenure suggests you are in fact very much moving forward! Congratulations my friend <3
Thank you, Elisabeth. <3 That means a lot. I wondered what your thoughts would be on this post, given your current focus on Shmita and rest. I've really enjoyed reading your posts this year. Your challenges with actually resting resonate so much with me. I was looking up some books on letting go and moving on after writing this post, and one of the books that came up was "The Sabbath", by Heschel. It's old (1950s?) but was part of my search results due to the focus on rest being a key element of moving forward. I maybe need to learn this lesson (although there's really no "maybe" about it...).
DefinitelyRA!!! I read her in the day!! Wow. The internet is such a small place. She was on Instagram, but it looks like she last posted in January and that’s too bad because I sort of want to know what’s going on in her life. Okay, I just went down that rabbit hole, but I’m back.
I’m happy you wrote this and linked back to the post you wrote on Sunday because it’s such a fun read and all your readers deserve to know it’s there!
Holy COW it’s a small blogging world. I know – I looked her up on IG when I looked up her blog to see if she had somehow posted something that I missed. Nope. 🙁 I loved reading her posts because of her writing and her love of books, of course, but she also lived near Philly (sensing a theme? :>) so I was very familiar with many of the towns she wrote about.
And thank you – for the guest post opportunity and for helping drag me back into the real world. You’re the best. 🙂
A very interesting exploration of an idea and concept of inertia. I experience it sometimes, too. For me, inertia comes because I am too much in my head, and I need to get out, and move and walk, and maybe jump up and down. I need to put away the tech, the book, and sit in meditation, focusing on body, not mind, I am a planner, a decluttered, an organizer, a person who lives in the past/future, and I am so much in my head, but- as I said above- I need to get out.
YES to this, Daria: “I am too much in my head, and I need to get out”. I am glad you have figured out what helps you do that – now I need to do the same! I have not tried physical movement, but maybe that’s something I should try! I have a hard time letting go of things – I even have a draft post about how this is my least favorite aspect of, well, me. 🙂 I need to explore ways to move out of my head, stop focusing on the past, and move forward. Thanks for the idea!
Oooh I love those quotations. They really resonate with me!
Last year I started living by the line in the song Unwritten, that goes “live your life with arms wide open” and it just says everything to me. I’ve had to open my arms to vast new experiences in the last year, and you know what, it’s been absolutely great. I think that it’s natural to go through stages of inertia in life, but all the same I’m glad you’re moving forward!
Good to see you back here! I’m looking forward to more! You’ve written it, so now you’re COMMITTED!!!
I am committed, Nicole! I need to make use of all the drafts I have hanging out (so…many…thoughts…) and start sharing just a tidge more about my life, I think. 🙂 So, don’t fall off your chair (or yoga mat), but… I read the lyric you quoted and thought, what song is that? When I listened to it (there was some chair dancing, I admit), I thought, OH! That song! I never really listened to the lyrics, but loved them when I did. So thank you, my friend. <3 Living life with arms wide open is something I aspire to, rather than crossing them over me. <3
How nice that you have written a guest post! I’ll go and read it when my brain is back in reading mode after an insanely busy “holiday” (honestly, I need a good holiday after this trip!).
I had to look up the word inertia. I still don’t get it, ha! But, I know how hard it can be to write, or other things you may be stuck with. I hope to see you write more. I love that quote! I need to apply it to my own life too.
Oh, interesting that inertia doesn’t seem to translate well to Swedish. I wonder if there is a phrase you use when you’re stuck with something, or know you need to move forward but haven’t (yet) found the will/energy/drive to do so? (Languages other than English have such wonderful and expressive phrases and words for nuanced emotions. Something English definitely lacks!) Being stuck stinks. 😛 And I am glad you’re back! It did not seem like a relaxing kind of vacation. I’m glad to know that, though, because one thing that’s on my “moving past inertia” list is finally – FINALLY – getting a look at your stuff. Do you think that link still works that you sent me long ago?
I actually didn’t translate it into Swedish, when it’s a word I don’t recognise I almost always look for a definition of it in English. But the descriptions I found were so vague! I just guessed from the rest of your post what it could mean. I’m so glad you’re getting out of the stuck-ness. Swedish is not a very nuanced language, in most cases so I don’t expect to find a good word for it there. Italian is a much more descriptive language!
Regarding the link – it’s still there but I’m working on putting the shop elsewhere. I have some new prints since I put that site up and I’ve also found the perfect hoodie that I know will be what you’re looking for. I’ll send you an e-mail later tonight!
Ah, I didn’t know that Swedish is a relatively straightforward language. It’s fun to think of the contrast with Italy – two such different countries, with such different – at least it seems – ways of being. If that makes sense? (It’s early, I’m not yet fully caffeinated, so give me a bit of a break if it doesn’t, please…:>)
Ooh, do email me when you can! I cannot wait to see what you have! This will be my tenure gift to myself. 😀
I think, even if it sounds a bit cliché, some of what we know about the Italian culture – temperament, strong emotions etc – is very much in sync with their language. I’m in awe anytime I read Italian books, how many different adjectives there are and I absolutely love authors who use them well! And Sweden is that, eh, perfectionist, “organised” (this is so incorrect these days) country with fewer ways to describe things. In certain contexts we have more descriptors though! I’ve sort of put language studies aside for a bit but it would be interesting to dig deeper into this at some point.
Oh, I am so interested in your descriptions of Italians (particularly since you can speak/read Italian!) and Swedes. It’s interesting that you put air quotes around “organized” (sorry, I have to do the Americanized version, my fingers won’t do the British/European…;>). Is that a misperception, or perhaps myth, that we on the outside have? Language and regionalisms (the US has soooo many) and etymology are such fun to contemplate. And yes, I am a complete nerd. 😉
No one likes intertia, and no one would logically choose it…but yet so many of us do. I have those feelings often in my everyday life. And yes I see your Goodwill pile and I raise…
So here’s to ditching the inertia!
Oh, such a good point – of course I would not choose this. I do think a lot of it overlaps with my perfectionism? So many people I know just aren’t as focused on perfection – they are perfectly (ha) happy with good enough, or better than expected. I’ve never been able to do that, alas. And I am glad that I’m not the only one with a teetering (seriously, it is) Goodwill pile. Maybe I can take that this weekend – that would be a start, wouldn’t it? 🙂
Yay! You posted! You’re everywhere today. Engie’s blog, Birchie’s blog, and now your own blog. I’m glad to see you here. I hope you are able to break through your inertia, you will certainly get some empathy in your comments, I suspect.
Oh, I haven’t read Birchie’s blog yet! I will have to zip over there (says the person who’s about 3 weeks behind on posts, sigh). Inertia stinks but it’s so often a shared experience. That makes it slightly less stinkier…maybe? 🙂
This is an interesting topic to think about. I feel like I could use more inertia in my life as awful as that sounds? I feel like I am in a ‘go go go’ stage with so many plates spinning and it is not a great feeling to have for an extended period of time. So I am trying to find way to prioritize rest, which I know is very different from inertia.
I also appreciate your line about joy in this post – I did a whole post on joy recently because I don’t feel like I experience it as fully as others who are more emotional/less stoic do, if that makes sense? I do experience joy but it’s really quiet joy and not like screaming from the rooftops kind of joy. But it is still joy nonetheless and I am trying to be more aware of when I feel those little bouts of joy.
Ah! I found your post – it went to spam. I instructed WordPress that that was not the case, so hopefully you are on the “approved” list. 🙂
And oh, Lisa, all of this resonates so much with me. So much! Your comment about the plates spinning and for too long – that is how I feel at work. Like I am on an out-of-control merry-go-round and I’d just like to get off for a bit, thanks. (And they just keep speeding it up…) There are certain things that I walked away from in my professional life, though, that I have difficulty leaving in the past. So it’s a weird combo – rapid and unrelenting paired with not being able to just… let some things be. If that makes sense? And yes, I totally, totally get that with your little kiddos, you are in a crazy-making stage of your personal life too. I honestly do not know how you do it! Plus all the work travel? You are a wonder. <3
My experiences of joy are very close to yours. I am not someone who is exuberant or loud or celebratory. My work "tenure celebration" was... ice cream before a meeting. No parties, thank you - they do not bring me joy. What does? Books, and music, silence, and nature. Give me a lake, or an ocean, or a forest, and I am a happy girl. 🙂
I find it really hard to keep going with regular blog posts without a schedule. I think if I just posted when I felt like it, I’d never post anything! I massively struggle with inertia, too, which is why I force myself to follow a schedule. That may not work for you, but perhaps a goal of blogging once per week will help. I know I speak for ALL of us when I say we want to hear from you and we miss your posts! <3
You know, you make a good point, Stephany. I – quite literally – put my entire life on to-do lists. Why not blog posts? (I mean, “Make doctor’s appointment” is on there, blog posts would seem to make the cut…) A goal of 1x/week sounds reasonable. I’ll try to aim for that, and we’ll see where we land! I do love writing here, and engaging with people, and it has brought me SO MUCH JOY to connect with this community, so it also seems like it should add to my happiness, which I definitely need. <3
I swear I commented here before but it must not have stuck! I have thought a lot about this post since reading it earlier this week. Because I was just talking about working in a restaurant as one of my college jobs on NGS’s post, this post made me think about how much inertia there is in a quiet restaurant. The worst service I have ever received is when a restaurant is quiet which is the opposite of what you’d expect. But I know from being a server that we were goofing off and not paying close attention to guests but if we were slammed, we were highly attentive because we had to be. My life feels like a super busy restaurant right now and I feel like I’m pivoting from task to task but I’m tired and would kind of welcome a dead restaurant and the inertia that accompanies it as odd as that sounds… But that inertia feeling doesn’t feel good if it happens over a prolonged period so I can totally relate to wanting to ditch that feeling.
You did – I rescued it from spam. So sorry!
And oh, what an interesting story about quiet restaurants. The same is true of hospital units! You always wanted a night shift (I worked permanent nights most of my bedside career) during which there was enough activity to keep you moving, but still let you get a trip in to the bathroom and maybe – maybe – a bit of a meal. 🙂 While I dream of sitting and doing nothing, I really struggle with that – I always find *something* to do. I blame my parents, honestly – neither of them can sit still unless they are, literally, sitting on a beach. 🙂
I loved that your post popped up on Engie’s blog and I am wagging my finger at you for wondering why Engie would even ask you to contribute BECAUSE YOU’RE A VALUED MEMBER OF THIS BLOGGING COMMUNITY. (Sorry for yelling but you’re a little hard of hearing sometimes 😉 [please take that as a loving nudge to think more highly of yourself, because you deserve it]).
Inertia can be tough to get out of but I think by making tiny steps every day, you’ll see that it gets much easier to leave it behind and engage more fully in the things that bring you joy.
Hi, San, I’m the problem, it’s me. 😉 (No, seriously, I struggle SO MUCH with imposter syndrome and/or feeling like my contributions are less-than, so thank you for saying that. Again. <3)
Tiny steps for sure. Today! I saw a friend for lunch (with sauerkraut, mmm) and also dropped off a bunch of the donations! The others go to the library (books) or need to just be recycled instead. That's something, at least...
Inertia is such a tough thing. I feel like I am struggling with it a lot myself.
I am trying a ne concept this month: Dancing. Often after lunch I can not get going so I do a dance break and it really helps me.
other than that the Angelou quote is a good one. Need to save it.
I love that, Tobia. I am not a dancer but there is something about listening to music that moves you – literally or figuratively – that does tend to get the brain firing and helps the body wake up. <3
Love these quotes, Anne. I feel like I am in an inertial phase of life, too, and I’m not a fan! Sometimes the path forward isn’t clear, and sometimes there are so many paths forward it’s hard to know which one to choose. I love that you are making progress and finding some clarity in your own goals.
DefinitelyRA! I miss her blog!
I think we’re all in at least a mild state of inertia, for some reason. For the parents, end of the school year. (Hope your summer is going well?) And for me, well, the fact that the slog has been pretty endless for the last year and a half. It turned out well, but oof. Hoping for a bit of a break in the middle of July.
Yesterday, I took most of the donations to the thrift store! I had lunch with a friend! I am inordinately proud of myself.
And wow – how weird is it that you, Engie, and I were all reading DefinitelyRA at the same time?!?!? We could have met years ago! (That said, I don’t think I ever commented on her blog? I think Stephany’s blog, or maybe San’s, was the first…)