it’s been 3 years, 4 months and 21 days since my first post. sounds like an AA introduction, doesn’t it? i guess in a strange way, this blog has kind of been like therapy for me. i started writing as a way to deal with challenges in my life—some extremely personal and others so massive and pervasive that they were simply out of my control.
“2009 was a rough year. from january thru december, i felt inundated by bad news. at the macro level, i was disgusted by the modern day robber barons pillaging our economy. hearing about how virtually every industry—from banking to healthcare to our food system—was rife with corruption, mismanagement, corporate greed and public deception. on the personal front, diagnoses of cancer for family members and close friends, job losses, financial woes, construction problems with our home, and the loss of a twin that i carried for 27 weeks, were the flavors du jour. the morbid headlines and personal tragedies left me with an overwhelming feeling: futility.”
i discovered that the process of writing was a way to cope, catharsis, maybe not always with a tangible solution at the end, but always with a sense of comfort, a flutter of optimism, or simply the vaguest reassurance that “everything’s gonna be alright.” with each post, i’ve reminded myself that even in the worst of times, you can always find the good, something to be grateful for, light amidst the darkness. and sometimes you just have to accept the bad and simply move on.
but a strange thing happened while i was on this journey. you—friends, family and even people i’d never met—joined me along the way. i came to realize that struggling to figure out how to make sense of the madness, how to be present, how to make moments count when we can barely keep our heads above water—is universal.
we all struggle with not having enough: time, energy, motivation, direction. we’ve all experienced loss, illness, sadness, loneliness. we all need reminders that the little things matter as much, if not more, than the big ones. we all know people who inspire us, expand our perspective, show us a different way of seeing the world. we all need to wipe the slate clean and as my friend joseph likes to say, “forgive ourselves” for all the stuff we want to do but haven’t, all the ways we perceive we’ve fallen short.
truth be told, i’ve been feeling guilty and stressed about how few posts i’ve written. it’s infrequent, sporadic, a classic case of what not to do when creating a relationship with readers. my only consolation: i suppose i’ve been trying to practice what i preach: being present in moments with family and friends, during travels and quiet times…trying to live versus just writing about it.
but over the past few months i decided it was time to invest in making the blog what i’ve always hoped it would be. i spent time reading through every single post (120 to be exact). i realized that though i have far from figured it all out, i do have a voice and perspective. “sea glass” is a way to share my lens for looking at the world. but now it’s much easier to search, seek, find and share, explore in ways that weren’t possible in the previous format.
the good news is that somehow i managed to eek out enough random hours, help desk emails, late evenings and early mornings to finally launch an upgrade. new look and feel. new facebook page (like the page for post updates). new twitter, instagram and pinterest links. and a renewed commitment to keep it going: more writing. more photos. more portraits. and hopefully a little more inspiration.
thanks for all your words of encouragement and support. knowing i’ve made a connection or struck a chord keeps me inspired…i hope i can do the same for you!