Michelle on the Rise

I always re-read the prior post before writing a new one. Entertaining, that. 

It’s like a time capsule as these posts come at long intervals. This time, it’s more like looking through a lens into a different universe.
Note the date: Friday, February 14, 2020.
[Cue “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” from Hamilton.]

From the narrow lens of my personal life (layoff, relocation, cohabitation, parenting) to the wide angle of the globe (pandemic, social unrest, environmental emergencies, volatile economics, contentious political climate, murder hornets) everything has changed. Then again, maybe it would be more accurate to say that the Universe has reminded us that change is the only constant.

Question: When the chalkboard has been erased, and the snow globe of life has been thoroughly shaken, what's a gal to do? 

Answer: She reinvents herself, of course.

To that end, I am participating in a class facilitated by Jana Van der Veer (writing/book coach extraordinaire, https://www.setyourmuseonfire.com/) called Fanning the Flames: Using Writing to Make Your Goals and Dreams Happen. She is teaching us that writing is a way to discover or excavate your dreams. We are learning to move closer to those dreams by uncovering what our dreams mean to us, by visualizing what they look like in fine detail, and by navigating self-sabotage. We are a small and mighty cohort exploring what it might look like to design our lives with greater intention.

So far, so good. 

I realized that I want to feel connected, alive, immersed, balanced, joyful, and grateful every day.
Connected…taking good care of my relationships and being open to communing with people I meet.
Alive…doing things that give me a thrill, or make me feel exhilarated, and appreciating that feeling.
Immersed…being present in whatever I’m doing at the moment.
Balanced…taking time to fill the well, which in turn helps me feel centered emotionally, mentally, physically.
Joyful…being open to delight, making space in my heart for gladness, and spreading it around to others.
Grateful…taking time to appreciate life’s many blessings.
 
The crazy part: I’d forgotten that I actually have control in these matters. 

It’s up to me to do the things that help me feel the things.
If I want to feel balanced, I need to take time to meditate. If I want to feel grateful, I need to write in my gratitude journal. If I want to feel connected, I need to call my mom or take ten minutes to snuggle with my honey. (Progress! I’ve incorporated these things into my life during the past week and I’m feeling the effects already.)

A more concrete desire cropped up over and over in my writing – to revive this blog – so here I am. And because “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” was the rallying cry of my last post, even if this one turns out to be as dull as dry toast, I’m committed to hitting publish. (Feel free to blame Jana entirely if you agree.)

New Year, New Post

I was updating my Blogger profile picture when I happened to notice the total number of posts I've written:
17.

Then I looked at the date of my first post:
May 3, 2008.

Oh dear.

I've only written 17 posts in the last almost 12 years? Why bother to continue?

Honestly, I'm not sure.

For whatever reason, I want to keep going. I want to start a regular writing practice. I think I can do it this time. (Surely I can improve upon my once-a-year track record.)

My secret weapon? A notion introduced to me by Gretchen Rubin on her Happier podcast:

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

An imperfectly worded post once a week might just be better than a meticulously crafted post published never.

I will allow myself the freedom to write and release. And because the idea of committing to a regular schedule makes me want to crawl out of my skin*, I'll tell myself that I don't have to; I'll just write when I feel like it.

* In GR's Four Tendencies framework, this is a classic Rebel sentiment. Every time I take the quiz, though, the results are either Rebel or Questioner. Maybe the fact that I've taken the quiz multiple times points to Questioner?
Gretchen, feel free to weigh in!