I’ve been noodling on the idea of a blog, or something, for a few years. This actually started as a book idea about 15 years ago and I wanted to call it “Momma Said” and fill it with nuggets and love and hope and music and inspiration. The idea came from people over the years responding to some little “nugget” I’d offered with “Wow, that’s so helpful, thank you! Where did you get that?” and invariably the answer was “my Momma” – so the obvious answer was an anthology called “Momma Said” 🙂 It’s evolved into “Wisdom of Friends” because I believe there are so many things we call all share with one another, but, it started with my Momma.
I’ve often joked that my Momma was teaching me about Zen and Buddhism when other kids were getting Cinderella. Due to being annoyed about getting ripped of and denied Cinderella I willfully avoided most of what she was trying to share, but some sunk in. Not enough for me to speak on either with even a hint of depth, but what did stick was love and acceptance and the belief that we’re all doing the best we can.
My Mom and I have had a number of philosophical debates over the years – she’s always been on the side of the underdog, despite what choices may or may not have lead a person there, and I’ve always been both a champion and a challenger. I deeply believe that we can all grow, learn, evolve and that we can get past our barriers. Yes, there are times when we need a little help, and yes, the system can be a giant pain in the a** but even with those constraints, we can achieve what we yearn for.
For the past few years I’ve been collecting nuggets and tucking them away for when I finally started. There have been lots of reasons not to. “I’m not a very good writer” (this one came from a few “lessons”, I’m sure most of them well-intentioned but it stuck). “I don’t have time” (other variations of this, “I’m tired”, “I’m busy”, “when I’m retired”…”I don’t wanna”), “I’m uncomfortable putting myself out there” (“people might criticize me”… actually that one is more “people might think I’m nuts”). So, I’ve been chipping away at my fears – and finding little nuggets.
“I’m not a very good writer” – somewhere, now I can’t find where, I read that some famous author (Hemingway, Steinbeck, one of those biggies) broke most of the “rules” in his writing. I read that, my brain went “hmm….” and tucked that little find away.
“I’m uncomfortable putting myself out there” – that one is still there, and likely for most of us, never fully goes away – but it’s better than it was. I am noodling on why that is – because if I figure it out maybe I can keep in going, and possibly share the “path”. I don’t have answers but think some of the ingredients are: age, mindfulness, horseback riding (doing stuff outside your comfort zone builds confidence), better health, fewer financial worries (let’s get real, it’s hard to “find your Zen” when you’re trying to feed, house, clothe yourself and possibly family).
“I don’t have time” …ah… I don’t have to do it all at once! I can store ideas and write when I have time, I can build a little at a time…and so – I told myself recently that once I had 10 posts I would share my blog. It became both a reward (do this much and you can start) and a commitment (once you get to 10 you need to take the leap).
So – I made it! Here’s #10, and let’s see where it goes!
PS – yes, technically this is #12, but “SIM Swap Scary Stories” is just the “why” for “Ugggh….Protecting your phone from being hacked” and “Why “Wisdom of Friends”” is a re-post of the About section so counting either of those felt like cheating.