Stopping and Starting

Life can be interesting. Mine has been so interesting that I ended up taking an unplanned two month break from blogging. I don’t typically write much about my personal life and I’m not going to begin now; except to say that moving was one of the less stressful events of the past few months. But things are good now and my brain and my life once again have space for blogging.

What I find interesting about my temporary blogging halt has been my response to it. If blogging had existed when I was younger, I doubt that my younger self would have tolerated an unscheduled halt in blogging. I would have felt compelled to post something And I would have been stressed about it. And I would have felt guilty about even thinking of skipping a week. But at this point in my life, when I found myself too pressed for time and too stressed to write, it seemed better just to allow myself a little break. I’ll confess to a little guilt- but for me, surprisingly little.

I am learning, slowly, to be gentle with myself. I am learning, reluctantly, that I cannot do everything I want or need to do. Sometimes I have to make choices. I am learning, amazingly, not to feel too guilty about making those choices.

There are situations in life that require effort and determination. Times when we must push forward against obstacles. Times when we must persevere.

There are also situations where we need to let go, not fight against obstacles. Times when we need to loosen our tight grasp and realize we can’t control situations and people as much as we might hope to.

In between clench jawed determinism and passive resignation is another way. The way where we are wise enough to manage what we can and let go of what we can’t. We decide what requires our full attention and effort and what we give away or give up.

We make our choices and do the best we can. Sometimes I forget to be grateful that I can make choices and that I can do things to make life more manageable.  And of course often when the time is right, we can pick back up the things we needed to temporarily let go of. The act of stepping away from something may give us the opportunity to resume it with renewed enthusiasm.

It is the second Sunday of the new year and we will see where this year takes us. Thank you for your patience. And thank you for taking the time to read and comment.