SO MANY good reads this week, friends. SO many. These have been my saving grace the last few days, for it has been a week of realizations, a week of coming to terms. So many things are changing, or on the verge of change. I can feel it even in the wind, which hints at a cooler season. My instinct is to be afraid of it, to dread the ways that I might not do it right or handle it well. But I’m restless for change, and I know that I need something else. So come what may, I choose today to live in possibility.

For your restless spirit, a few reads to free you : 

Tiny Joys.

I Accidentally Saw A Picture of You.

“Maybe this is love too – a love of your own self and body as it reacts to something. It’s like the separating membranes of our bodies are in sensory conflict with the waves within. You can’t call this a sensation of pleasure or pain; it’s a sensation of being.” Her oscillating interiors.

“I pull away from the curb and instruct myself not to go down those roads.” Another first date.

“And so they ate it. And we’ve been taking bites out of things we don’t deserve ever since.” On Entitlement.

And a few thoughts on grief that really helped me this week :

Writing about it.

Why we will never get over it.

“I did not get over the loss of my loved ones; rather, I absorbed the loss into my life, like soil receives decaying matter, until it became a part of who I am.” – It All Comes Down to Choice.

[Photo : where I’m spending my weekend.]

Lost
David Wagoner

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

It’s been a good week for remembering why I do this – blogging, that is. I’ve been exhausted of it lately, uninspired, and perhaps not as diligent as I wish I could be. This week I got some really good news (which I will share soon, but not today) and it made me think about how glad I am that I’ve stuck it out, even when I kind of hate it.

I talk about this a lot, that when I started blogging in 2009, I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to write daily and have some accountability. Three years later, that is still my goal. I’m glad that I didn’t start out with the expectation that someday I would monetize it and be a mommy blogger with the craft skills of Martha Stewart and children fit for Gerber ads. My original intention is what keeps me from quitting when I see the stats wane or when I have a week where I’m just too caught up in other work to tend it as faithfully as usual.

When I started, I wasn’t even reading other blogs yet, especially writing blogs. Once I started finding bloggers I liked and following their content, I was able to learn from them and grow in my own voice and ideas. We need the encouragement and criticism of a community to help us grow in our work.

But lately? My exhaustion is a direct result of the community I’ve come to love, unfortunately. With a few wonderful exceptions (see my past Inspired By posts for great examples), several circles of the blogging community have drank the vitriol of culture wars and binged on their own drivel, and quite frankly, I’m really freaking sick of it. Sick of it enough that sometimes I want to quit the internet, just to keep myself from getting brainwashed with them. Sick of it enough that I wonder if my voice is clear and strong enough to be heard beyond the din of insults and accusations, and if it’s not, then is this worth doing at all?

I know that many of you, like me, wonder the same things and worry about whether it is worth the time. And I appreciate that because it means you care about being honest. It means you want to be real with your work, and you want to be a part of an authentic community. This is what inspires me. This is the reason I am here.

Today I want to celebrate that. Instead of linking to a bunch of good reads, I want you to do it. And I want you to do it for yourself.

What is the best post you’ve ever written*? Share it in the comments.

Why? Because we need your voice.

 

*If you’re not a blogger, share a link to a good read you came across this week!

What’s the hardest question anyone has ever asked you about your beliefs? What is the most challenging conversation you’ve ever had with someone about faith? A lot of things have challenged my belief in God over the course of my life. Today I’m sharing a story over at Prodigal in which a friend asks me the hardest question I’ve ever faced, and how it forced me to ask myself if my faith was real. I would be honored if you would read it and share your own experiences, or even ask the question the questions that challenge your faith (however you believe.) All are welcome to the conversation at Prodigal Mag.