“If, anywhere in your soul, you feel the desire to write, please write. Write as a gift to yourself and others. Everyone has a story to tell. Writing is not about creating tidy paragraphs that sound lovely or choosing the “right” words. It’s just about noticing who you are and noticing life and sharing what you notice. When you write your truth, it is a love offering to the world because it helps us feel braver and less alone. And if you’re a really, really bad writer, then it might be most important for you to write because your writing might free other really, really bad writers to have a go at it anyway.
If you feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing, please refuse to worry about whether you’re good enough. Just do it. Be generous. Offer a gift to the world that no one else can offer: yourself.”
- Glennon Doyle Melton, Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed
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First things first, please go purchase Carry On, Warrior immediately. I gobbled that book up in 48 hours. I laughed and cried and nodded and said “Amen!” several times while reading. It’s a quick, wonderful read.
This month marks four years of blogging for me, and, well, that quote from Glennon pretty much sums up how I feel about it. Whether you’ve been here for a long time (heeeey!) or you’re brand new here (hello!), you should know: there is no strategy for this blog. There is not a schedule of posts, or rules that I adhere to. This is just where I notice life. This is where I write about what I notice, often badly and imperfectly.
And sometimes I want to give it up because it’s a lot of time and work and energy. But a couple of times a year, maybe 3 or 4 times, I get e-mails from strangers who read these words, and they seem sort of grateful. They tell me that my words have helped them in some way and made them feel less alone. I say this not to brag or humblebrag but to tell the truth: without those 3-4 e-mails, I don’t know if I would still be blogging. They really keep me going, especially when I feel like quitting. And sometimes I really feel like quitting. I mean, let’s be honest, do you know what I could do with the time I spend blogging if I wasn’t blogging? I could write books! I could organize my closet! I could paint my nails! I could bake cookies! I could sit on my couch with a bag of cheetos and watch, like, EVERY season of the Real Housewives!
But here we are, four years later, chugging right along. I’m just noticing who I am and noticing the way the world works, and sharing what I notice here. Sometimes I write well and sometimes I don’t; sometimes I write for me and sometimes I write for you. Sometimes I just need to empty myself.
Thanks for sticking around, and for the comments, and for the e-mails. I am grateful for this space and I am grateful for you.
