If you have been wondering what is going on with this blog you are not alone. I have been wondering, too. Bean Sprouts is very important to me and I don't want to let it die. But I have been finding it hard to post.
It's not that I have stopped caring about all the things I used to write about. I still care very much. It's true that when I realised I was ill I eased up on many of the more time consuming and arduous 'green' practices. I found it a tremendous struggle just to get out of bed and dressed so more convenient options were literally life-saving to me for a while, and I had to learn to stop beating myself up about that (there just wasn't time, anyway. The list of things I was beating myself up about was very long). So I haven't lost interest. In fact I have added some new interests that I would like to blog about. So why haven't I?
I think I know why - I have been having similar difficulty in other areas, such as crafting, gardening, work, art - everything, really. The problem is that I have lacked confidence that what I create would be good enough, so I have been creating nothing. Stupid, huh?
I had a breakthrough today - I am going to stop worrying about whether it is good enough and just do it. Scary as that is, I am strong enough now to take the risk of failing. So I pledge to update the blog every day, whether or not I have something earth-shattering to say. Whether or not the writing process flows easily. Whether or not I cam find the perfect image to go with the post (this time I have used a photo of my dog, Gil - my Zen master in teaching me how to not care about what people think but just do whatever seems like a good idea at the time). I'm just going to do it.
14 comments:
Change is the only constant Melanie.
Even the best intentions can change with time ;o)
Go for it, Mel!
Here's a pic of our new dog :-
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc223/robrait/Ozzie05-04-2010.jpg
Rob
One thing that I have learned is that this is a good thing to think: 'It is better to do something than to do nothing'. And this, which my mother says she wishes she'd learned earlier: you only get better at something by doing it.
The short version of which is, I think this is a very good post and a very sensible outlook. (And Gil looks like a very nice dog to know!)
You know, I am sure I am not alone when I say I read this blog because I am interested in what you have to say, not whether I think it is 'good enough'. I like to read that other people that have similar interests to my own are out there, and what they are up to (even if it so that I can check that I am really not *so* late in getting the beans/onions/tomatoes etc. in). I prefer the real life experiences of real people that do not have the lucky position of a job in horticulture, because I find them to be more like my own experiences. If I wanted something 'perfect' then I would read text books. I don't like that approach, but I do like yours. This is why I read. It does not have to be perfect, it is more about cameraderie. I hope that this helps you too in your quest to blog more frequently. Good luck with it.
hooray! Im always here checking if you have posted. your dog is lovely looking by the way
Yay! Good for you!
Don't worry about posting interesting stuff. Honestly, you'd be helping bloggers like me who post mainly what I ate today and why I still haven't done the stuff I keep saying I'm going to do feel much better about ourselves. I read various bloggers on occasion saying something similar or worrying that their blog is no longer a food/finance/green/whatever blog. I usually fret for a little while that I have such low standards I don't even know WHAT kind of a blog I have and end up just glad that I have such low standards.
Underpromise and overachieve - there's a bit of call centre wisdom for you. I never intend my blog to be anything other than my diary ('cos when I first heard about blogs I looked them up and that's what they are you know - a web log of my life) so the odd time I do get a comment it's a bonus. I understand it can take years to cultivate and perfect having the kind of low standards I do for my writing but you could always start, never too old for it or anything :-)
I like your blog. I love the topics you choose to deal with... What you write makes always me think about.
I experienced depression. You are recovering!
(I'm from Italy, sorry for my poor English)
Mel, yours was one of the first blogs I read and I enjoyed it so much that I've followed it faithfully ever since. When you disappeared without warning I missed you. Although we've never met I felt as if I'd lost a friend. So I was delighted when you reappeared and started blogging again.
You've obviously had a rough time of it lately, but it seems you're on the road to recovery, however slow and painful. I'd hate to lose you again so I'm glad you've decided to keep going. I know I'll continue to enjoy whatever it is you have to say.
Good for you! With any luck, the more you write, the easier it will get.
We face the same problem, living in an isolated place, with a to do list longer than a roll of loo paper.
Sometimes every challenge seems insurmountable, or you feel under skilled to do it, or just don't know where to start. It can be completely disempowereing.
Nowadays we reckon that our best is just going to have to be good enough, and we now do lists of what we have done, not what needs to be done. It makes a huge difference realising all you actually are able to do, rather than focus on all that you can't.
Long journeys start with the first step and all that.
Let's face it it an't easy being living Green as opposed to buying Green. It can be deeply more satisfying, and equally deeply frustrating.
We no longer have the habit of doing everything for ourselves, and it takes a life time of learning.
Sometimes, most of the time really, its a fun and amazing process, but sometimes it can be just too much.
I'd like to say don't let it get you down, but that would be hypocritical and it certainly can get me and Caroline down, grey days of inactivity. But then the sun comes out, the plants start growing and things get back on track.
Spring is on its way, and with it all the wonderful colours and shoots.
All the best
Pete
Glad to hear your going to post more. Don't feel it has to be definitive or "the best", sometimes failures can be good to hear about too and anything can provoke discussion from other people.
Not sure a post every day is necessary. You might want to relax your commitment to twice a week or something like that.
Your dog is beautiful.
You don't need to write a long post all the time.
And it is funny how you think your "nothing" maybe "something" for your readers.
I enjoy your blog no matter what!
One of the reasons I like this blog is because you are very real about what you do. You may think something is not interesting, but I always get something new to think about from your posts.
I would love to see what you gave up on for a while, and how you substituted with more convenient things. Because life does get in the way for all of us, and I think that once you're in a green mindset you never fully escape it...so "convenient" and "not-so-green" is still of interest!
Take care of yourself, it is important! Hugs to you!
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