Sometimes I find that my weeks have a theme to them. Most of the time it involves the words Chaos, Whirl Wind, Busy or Mind Numbing. Then there are other moments when something really stands out; a message repeated over and over again by friends, family, strangers and heck even a billboard.
This is one of those weeks and I’ve found that the theme of engagement has been the topic of conversation. I don’t mean a “Will You Marry Me” type of engagement. Instead it’s more of an interaction, and being a participant in life instead of sitting on the sidelines.
It started as a low murmur at first mentioned on a couple of blogs from people who were feeling Blah or Eh, about writing and blogging. It’s the winter slump, and looking back this happened last year too. I attribute it to the winter doldrums, and the itch for spring. But there are times when it gets to be too much, and there’s no engagement not with the creative heart or with the creative community, and well….that’s when it’s time to put on your big girl pants, splash some cold water on your face and wake the “f” up. It’s hard and it sucks, but you know what sucks worse…NOT creating, pulling away and crawling into that dark abyss. BEING UNENGAGED means you are closing yourself off, even from the pain that life throws at you. Instead you need to reexamine your goals, find harmony among the must dos, can dos and want to dos, and lend yourself some GRACE.
But whatever you do, DON’T give up. You need to engage with your family, with strangers with your tribe in order to find that spark again. And trust me you will find it, perhaps in the most unlikely of places, but you WILL find it. I guarantee it…
This week as I fought to find my spark, I started commenting on blogs again. This pastime had gone by the wayside in response to too much work, too much behind the scenes blogging, and too much life. I’ve missed it terribly, and I’ve been reading all of you, and commenting in my head, but unfortunately {or fortunately} you aren’t in my head. By reading and commenting again, I’ve felt more of a connection to all of you, I’ve also written some blog posts inspired by YOU!
I’ve also made a point to be more engaged with family. Shutting down the computer more, not touching my phone at night, and just being more attentive to the little monkeys and big guy. It’s been a challenge…deadlines and sleep sometimes get in the way, but that’s when that word HARMONY comes in and then all is good.
In my quest for engagement I was able to document many more Sound Bytes than I have in the past couple of weeks, so without further adieu here are this week’s Sound Bytes…
3. Diarrhea, Diarrhea, Diarrhea…”
When I heard little red chanting this during a diaper change, I was a little worried, however all was normal in poop world. Whew!!!
2. “Bye bye ocean.”
No we didn’t go on a tropical trip, G just thinks the bathtub is the ocean. He also makes his sharks eat people; perhaps he’s the next great shark hunter. Hopefully not…I don’t think my heart could take that.
1. “I declare a doinking truce.”
In our house nose doinks are the equivalent of a hug, and we nose doink a lot. However, sometimes it can a little too crazy, and the white flag needs to be waved.
Now it’s time for a snowy weekend, and I will engage in sledding, hot cocoa, a little reading, a little writing, some swim practice and lots of nose doinks and hopefully no diahrea.
Have a great weekend! Be engaged in life and you never know where you will find your spark.
What did you hear this week? Leave a comment or link up your post.
Oh, how I needed to read this today. Granted, I don’t feel well….but my energy level (including all things blog related) has been slowly slipping. I am finding that I blog because I have to. And when I reflect on the cause of that, it’s exactly what you’ve just described. I’ve dis-engaged from my community. When I connect, I find inspiration in all kinds of places…I find that maybe this week my role is less of a writer and more of a supporter/listener/commenter….but I need to stay connected to that community. They strengthen me, they inspire me, they help me be a better person….
And because you’ve articulated it perfectly, I’m clipping this post to my Evernote under the tag “inspiration” because that’s exactly what you did for me today!
Kimberly recently posted..If you love them, let them go.
It’s amazing isn’t it. There are days when I wonder what all the fuss is about…posting stupid things I’m doing on FB, Tweeting about stupid crap the kids do and documenting every moment of our lives here, but…then a dialogue starts and it’s like all of a sudden we are all connected, and it makes me feel less lonely in the big confusing world. Plus, if I never would have started blogging I never would have met you! 🙂