How 30(ish) Days of Blogging Rocked my World

When Effy put out the call to join her  in the challenge to 
write 30 blog posts in 30 days I honestly did not think I could do it.  
Writing has continued to be a struggle for me despite my increased 
love of doing in it in this medium.  

Yet here I am with the 30th blog post in 30(ish) days and 
I couldn't be more proud of myself for stepping up to the challenge
It's been such a blessing to be a part of this wider internet community. 

As this part of the journey comes to an end, I find myself in deep
reflection about how this experience rocked me as a writer. 

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Here's what I learned...

Every post doesn't have to be the next great novel. 

Part of my struggle with writing is I want everything to be the best.  What an unrealistic 
amount of pressure I've put on myself because of that desire!  I continually reminded myself
that it didn't have to be prize winning stuff, it just had to be something that was in my heart.  
For me that was a huge relief and cleared the way for what I felt was some really solid writing.

It's more important to honor my own rhythm than follow a prescribed program

While I enjoyed Julia Cameron's solid advice in The Artist Way, I was never able to sustain 
morning pages in the way she prescribed which fed my inner critic voices.  But this time, 
I allowed myself the space to sit down and write at whatever time was best for me.  I discovered 
around dusk is the time time I feel most focused for writing with the words just flowing out of me 
much easier.  Discovering that has made all the difference in how I'll continue with my blog writings.

Sometimes I need to give myself permission over and over again

During this challenge I gave myself permission to write about anything and everything which 
ultimately lead to me sharing a very vulnerable piece I wouldn't normally have shared.  I still had 
to let it sit a few days while I gave myself permission again and again to share it and I can see 
how doing that leveled up my courage.  I also discovered because of the permission to write anything
the more I wrote, the more I wanted to write and I now have a list of topics I'd like to explore which before 
this I didn't. 

What's next?

I've loved the freedom I've given myself during this practice and I want to continue posting though 
I'm not sure if I'll be doing it everyday.  We start back to regular schedule homeschooling and as we 
get used to that rhythm I hope to incorporate space for writing somehow.  

I've got some great new programs I'm developing to come out in the next couple of months 
(subscribe to my newsletter for advance notice). I'm giving myself the next two days to rest and 
integrate while the answer comes up.  

Our Friday Bento Lunch

I want to share my art not just my knitting but whatever form that makes my 
heart sing at the moment...right now I'm revisiting bento making and spirograph mandalas. In the mean time I want to give deeps appreciation to Effy for doing this and to everyone who participated and commented on my writings here and on Facebook.  

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