The Blog is Dead- I Feel SO Much Better

Why does that make me feeling better? 


I can just feel the relief wash over me. 

The Blog is Dead by Jason Kottke

..."Sometime in the past few years, the blog died. In 2014, people will finally notice. Sure, blogs still exist, many of them are excellent, and they will go on existing and being excellent for many years to come. But the function of the blog, the nebulous informational task we all agreed the blog was fulfilling for the past decade, is increasingly being handled by a growing number of disparate media forms that are blog-like but also decidedly not blogs.Instead of blogging, people are posting to Tumblr, tweeting, pinning things to their board, posting to Reddit, Snapchatting, updating Facebook statuses, Instagramming, and publishing on Medium."...Today, teens are about as likely to start a blog ... as they are to buy a music CD. Blogs are for 40-somethings with kids"

I am guilt free of my disregard of the blogging "rules" of success. No more worries about the number of shares, likes, responses, followers, consistency of content, frequency of posts, or  finding the perfect theme. I am free!!! 

What  relief.

The zeal with which some plunge into the New Year has always been curious to me. Maybe living in the Northern Hemisphere, far from the equator, plays a role. I see the contrast of  winter days and expending gobs of energy on resolutions to be futile. January does however bring thoughts of quiet new beginnings. Stirrings in the darkness of winter. I listen closely.

For the past few January's I have chosen a word to explore throughout the new year. 

2011 Pause~~~~~~2012 Balance~~~~~~2013 Curves

  

It is January 17th and I am still without a word in 2014.

I am not dismayed by the delay- I will have a new word by Chinese new year, which is next week. Or sooner- since I keep rewriting this post! I have continued to ponder last years word, curves. 

• Why do I feel a bit let down by last years word? 
• Why did Pause and Balance give me a sense of comfort?  (Was it the years events were easier in 2012, and 2011? Ha, now that is funny.)
•  Comfort- now there is a word!  Creating a places of comfort, lingering in places of comfort, hiding in places of comfort - ah yes. That is stuff I like. 

 Finding the inside of the curve~ October 2013~

Devils Garden, Escalate, Utah

• SAFETY  
• physical safety and emotional safety
•  Yes safety. Safety could be my word. With prayer and faithfulness I may find that curve I crave, the inside. With prayer and faithfulness, maybe I could may be ok outside the curve.  Maybe. I here some people crave the excitement of the outside of the curve.(Don't they know it is dangerous out there!!)
•  When do I feel most comfortable? What amount of comfort do I require to feel safe enough to really be myself? What are the origins of discomfort?

"Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place."

~ Zora Neale Hurston

So this year it will be my intention to be mindful about the boundaries I need to feel safe. I wish to set boundaries with grace instead of defensiveness. Last year I struggled to reclaim a safe emotional place. It seemed the only way to do this was a "take no prisoners" strategy. Very effective- but rather abrasive.   

So a prayer for the gentleness of a mother creating a safe place for a child.  I will allow myself the safe space, relieved to do the things that will bring me around again to wholeness.