I’ve decided that it was time to do something. You see, I’ve been struggling with a lot of things since I last posted and I’ve finally just gotten sick of feeling like a slave to my “to do” list. It is far past time to DO.
So after some self analysis, I finally concluded it was silly to keep two sites going. Well if I’m being completely honest, I haven’t been keeping ONE site going. So two was definitely out of the picture! No Map Nomads receives far more hits than my old (and first) blog site over at Weifarer’s Wanderings. So, I’m moving Weifarer’s here. It will take some time to get everything set up just the way I want of course. It is easy to choose to move in to a new place, but arranging the furniture can take weeks . . . and lets not get into getting out the nicknacks! 🙂 I’ve created a new category under Our Thoughts where you can link directly to all the Weifarer’s Wanderings updates to keep tabs on what I’m posting. But hey, here is me – up and running and posting again!
I’ll get more into this summer’s silence as things evolve. It was a time of getting lost in work and in myself and now emerging back into me, finding direction again and a focus. And one of those things holding me back was the question “Why blog?” I really couldn’t figure it out.
You see, I’m not a highly social person. Much more of an introvert if allowed to follow my inclinations. I always have crafts and projects, walks and writing to accomplish. Somehow sharing my innermost thoughts with strangers doesn’t rank very high on the things I want to get done in one weekend. So why have this website at all?
Well the first reason that came to me was that I do want to write and ‘gasp’ maybe be or self publish someday! Soooo, I definitely see a personal benefit in having people who recognize my writing and are interested! Maybe I’ll stumble upon an agent. Maybe it’ll make promoting my first book easier. Who knows. But there are benefits to posting and writing far more than not!
The second reason that surfaced as I pondered if I should start posting again was that I’ve seen an impoverishment in my writing over the summer. Oh yes, I’ve still be writing and trying and struggling! But it lacked an immediacy and crispness that had once carried over even into the fiction and fantasy. It had been there when I WAS blogging. Something about keeping word counts down and writing really often was a huge help overall to my style. I miss that and recognize it. So again, keeping a blog going even if no one ever read it is a plus.
And then I stumbled upon one more reason. Actually it came through a site that I subscribe to: The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris recently wrote about a young fellow who walked across the USA. You can read that post here. The last reason given for why Nate wanted to walk across the US struck a cord: to inspire others. I’ve heard it before but for some reason on that day as I was thinking about if I should keep posting, it clicked.
There are two sides to this coin. I’ve read about so many young people heading off into the unknown, mid-twenties, probably no spouse, no current successful career type job, so many things but none of them are me. Here I am very successful in what I do, but feeling very unfulfilled and looking to take a leap out to the unknown determined that my life doesn’t have to be played by the rules I’ve been following since I was born. Heck, there may be other people out there in the same boat! If so, I’d love to hear from you. We need to support each other before we start believing we are crazy . . . .
And the other side of the coin? Well, there are a lot of choices I’ve made – when following the societal rules mentioned before – that I don’t think I would have if I’d have had a bit more backbone, a bit more spark, or maybe a bit of a clue that I could stand up and say ‘No thanks’. Maybe some teenager out there is just as naive as I was (gosh I hope not!) and maybe something I’ll say will make them question just one thing they’ve been told “Thou shalt do.” Maybe, just maybe.
Anyway, three reason came to me, three that I can stand on. So decision made, not looking back, and here is my first Weifarer’s Wandering post at No Map Nomads. It is time to do!