100 posts

This post, when published, will represent my 100th published post.

I'm not sure what I expected when I started this blog, I knew I had thoughts that I wanted to document and share, and I knew that retiring from active full-time employment had left a vacuum where mentoring others had filled a place in my soul.

I think I expected more comments and interaction. At first, I was somewhat disappointed that only one person regularly commented, but then I realized if I was doing this to provoke comments, it was about needing recognition, and not needing to share things that I believe can help others.

I didn't expect it to be so hard to compose posts.   I led seminars on different topics from 1997 until I retired in 2014, and had done classroom instruction and led meetings from 1984 to 1997.  I thought I would never run out of things to say.

But, I found out, the composing a blog post and having something to say are two different things.   Speaking off the cuff, or responding to the stimuli of a person or a specific subject is very different than constructing a coherent impactful written piece.  This is so much harder than I thought it would be, and so, therefore, so much more rewarding.

I learned that there is vulnerability in putting your thoughts in print, much more so than in just speaking your thoughts.   This blog is open, but I don't link to it on Facebook, where I am linked to many people with very diverse backgrounds and perspectives.  There are too many people who respond unkindly in that format, and I am not willing to open myself up to that broad a platform for criticism.  I do post links on LinkedIn, where the discourse tends to be more constrained.

I've learned that I have moments of great inspiration, and days when my inspiration is silent.

I've learned that I will create pressure and tension in my life, such as feeling guilty if I don't post often enough, even though I don't know that anyone besides me notices when I don't post.

Mostly, though, I've learned that you never know when your words might be just the words someone else needs to hear.

So my advice is share yourself.

Whether that is through conversation, or written words, or song, or dance, or food, or exercise, or service.  Share yourself and your unique gifts.  The world needs your contribution, even if you never get validation that the world needed your contribution.

Do something that is scary for you, and keep doing it so that you continue to grow.

Stick with what you enjoy, even in the absence of feedback.

Notice everything.  You never know which small thing will inspire you to a great thing.

Thanks to my small but faithful following.   100 posts.   Now on to Infinity and Beyond.