After mulling it over for a couple of weeks, I’ve decided to make a change to the Sunday blog posts. I write two blogs, this daily one and Journey With Healthy Me that I post in three times a week. That means that Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are double blog post days. I like what that consistency has done for the health blog. Since I implemented that schedule in January, I’ve grown the audience for Journey by 417%, and it continues to increase.
What I didn’t think through was having Sunday as a double post day. I put in four or more hours of work on the blogs when I do two of them. Sundays are my self care days. I do other writing, commune with the Divine, read, garden, walk and occasionally watch a movie. I’m protective of my Sundays. And my time. Rather than switch around the health blog schedule, I am choosing to write a shorter post each Sunday, on this blog…something inspirational, a brief story, or thoughts centered around a favorite quote.
So beyond today’s post with this long notice of change, watch for slightly different posts on Sundays!
This quote, author unknown, snagged my attention a couple of days ago. And so she decided to start living the life she had imagined. I wrote thoughts about it during my free writing this morning.
As a young adult, I had only an inkling about who I was and the person I was growing into. A long time people pleaser who avoided speaking up if it might cause confrontation, I couldn’t imagine being bold or doing anything on my own. Going to a family get together or a movie alone was a big deal then, much less traveling or trying new experiences on my own.
I remember well the night I had an epiphany about my life. My children were in their late teens and early twenties and beginning their own independent journeys on their life paths. And Greg had his own interests that didn’t always include me, which was fine. I had dreams and ideas and truths I was learning…and no one to share it all with, it seemed. That night I sat in a dark room, feeling very alone. I realized I felt that way because I was very disconnected from myself. Focusing on others and not being present with myself is what created the sense of loneliness. I also realized that looking to anyone else to fill that void was too great a burden to place on someone, too high an expectation for him or her to live up to.
That night, my life shifted. I vowed to share my heart and my dreams and the lessons I was learning with God, and to get to know myself in a much deeper way. What freedom began to flow into my life. I didn’t suddenly become a different person, but I began to grow into a different person, day by day, year by year. I started living the life I had been imagining, rather than waiting for others to invite me to join their adventures or agree to accompany me on mine. And once I opened up, the Divine met me where I was and called me onward. All kinds of delights and opportunities began showing up in my life.
It has been an amazing journey. I don’t mind sharing my life…I do so by writing my blogs. However, I don’t expect another to share in my life. By freeing myself, I’ve freed others to live their own magnificent lives. My creativity has been reborn, manifesting in writing, sketching, gardening, decorating, cooking and myriad other ways. My health has totally changed. There are topics I am exploring and interests I am developing simply because I want to.
And travel is becoming a big part of my life. The young woman who couldn’t go anywhere on her own has become the bohemian spirit who is eagerly anticipating her first solo overseas trip next year. All that I have dreamed, all that I have imagined, is becoming reality. I love my beautiful life.
