Thursday, May 2, 2013

Faith Restored


This isn’t a very generous thing to admit here, but I’ve recently been disheartened a bit by the state of bloglandia. I feel like, on lifestyle blog after lifestyle blog, I’ve been reading the same anguished quest for purpose and direction, hearing the same desperate cry for something momentous to happen, seeing the same aspirational desires typed out in the hope that, one day, our lives will be more. My own blog isn't exempt from this, of course, and we all want forward momentum; that’s how it should be.  After all, if we don’t grow throughout our lives, we stagnate. And I do understand that being surrounded by wave after wave of other people’s milestones – whether they’re downplayed or overhyped – on social media makes it easy to feel like we’re falling behind. (If you haven’t read this close-to-home article on The Onion, do it now!)

But blogging, like life, is about so much more than milestones. It’s about helping each other find the joy in small moments. It’s about acknowledging our failures as well as celebrating our successes in the comfort and security of our supportive community. And it’s about keeping things in perspective as our eyes are opened to the myriad of options the world provides.

I won’t be consistently joining Jenni’s #BlogEveryDayInMay project (in large part because I'm happy with the editorial calendar of six posts a week I had already drawn up and because I’ve written about many of the topics here before) but I’m beyond encouraged by the response it’s gotten. It sounds like I'm not the only blogger who was despairing and it’s just the push we needed to rediscover the beauty in writing about what might otherwise be considered mundane. I've read a handful of the 760 posts from yesterday, and my faith has absolutely been restored. Thank you, blog friends, for being true.


10 comments:

  1. I absolutely love writing from prompts. I don't have the most creative ideas ever, so I'm hoping that this gives me the push that I need to make blogging part of my regular routine again. I still am amazed at your ability to have an editorial calendar with many weeks of posts!

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  2. I have a hard time always coming up with ideas, too - that's why I do the calendar! Otherwise I sit down at my laptop at 9pm and think, "[expletive.] now what?" I love how Jenni's themes are inspiring everyone :)

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  3. Being that I posted all of NINE times last month, I going to try to post every day in May, even though I don't plan to use all of the Blog Every Day in May prompts. However, I agree with you! I think so many bloggers have needed a bit of a push recently to write about something other than the regurgitated "intentional living." I love the concept of intentional living, but has anyone else noticed what a blogosphere buzz word it has become?

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  4. Also, that Onion article is awesome.

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  6. amen. there's nothing wrong with being "intentional" but I'm afraid that we're all paralyzed into inaction by the effort!

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  7. I KNOW.

    “Hey, Ashley,” Wilkins continued, “do me a favor and give it a goddamn rest.”



    HAHA

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  8. I'm blogging every day in May, which means I've got two posts going in on some days because I'm still keeping to my schedule and I want my blog to keep on theme with what its all about. I'm already so encouraged by everyone and by all the activity on Twitter. I cannot image living an expat life without all this blog/twitter/instagram social activity. It makes it such a small world. x

    Bonnie Rose | A Compass Rose

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  9. I actually became so disheartened by my blog and the direction it had taken that I wiped it clean and am getting a fresh start. I am participating in Jenni's challenge and it's the perfect thing for my fresh start. I'm really striving for more honesty and authenticity, and as I have done so, I have realized just how much it bothers me when other bloggers don't.

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  10. oh wow, that's brave! when I have those moments I'm tempted, but I've never taken the plunge - it must feel good to have a blank slate?

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