Reflections on two years of daily blogging

“The future stands still, Dear Herr Kappus, but we move in infinite space.” - Rilke (Rockland Harbor, August 2021)

Two years ago, I felt a bit stuck.

I wanted to launch a new project into the world, but I felt like anything I did to promote it would be shouting into the void.

On the direct recommendation of Pia Silva — and the longtime advice of Seth Godin — I started publishing my work every day. And I’m here to tell you that it’s changed everything.

Ironically, I never did much to promote that original project here or anywhere else. Instead, I decided to simply share my thoughts and ideas. I had never done so in such a consistent way, and at first I hedged my bets by not telling anyone. I wasn’t sure exactly what I had to say and to whom. I didn’t know how much of myself I wanted to reveal.

These are questions that I could have thought about for years without actually taking action. But I had had enough of that already. As promised, the answers came from writing. Day by day, I clarified who I am and what I stand for and what I want to contribute to the world.

I’m grateful for that gift of insight into my own process and what it brought me. That would have been enough. However, there were other benefits to daily blogging that were more unexpected.

I began to feel a sense of peace in the knowledge that I was making time for creative work every day instead of simply dealing with whatever was urgent.

I developed a new confidence in myself as I went from invisible to present on the Internet.

Most valuable of all, I found you. And that’s what makes this whole thing so much fun. That fact that you’re choosing to read my words right now is an honor and a gift. You don’t have to agree with me on everything, but you see me. That sense of connection is precious. If writing is a generous act, so is taking the time to read it. I can’t even tell you how what that means to me.

Exactly a year ago, I celebrated the first anniversary of this blog. I couldn’t have imagined how much my life would change in the weeks that followed. This blog was been one of the few things that was not disrupted by the pandemic, and the daily ritual of writing gave me a measure of routine and normalcy in the midst of intense confusion and upheaval. It helped me to make sense of what was happening and process my thoughts and feelings about it. It helped me to feel okay. As began to hear from others that my work was helping them, I was emboldened to continue. My work had a purpose.

I can’t say what purpose this work will have in the future, and that’s part of the fun of it. I’m still learning and growing and figuring stuff out as I write, and it keeps taking me to interesting places and bringing me new opportunities. Along the way, I’m finding that the reservoir of ideas I want to share is expanding rather than diminishing, which may lead me to find new outlets for their development and expression.

If you have something you want to share — and I know a lot of my readers do — I encourage you to do it, even if it’s not totally clear in your mind how all the pieces fit together. I believe that, like me, you’ll gain more clarity from doing the work and putting yourself out there week after week. The fact that you don’t know exactly where it will take you is the magic of it. I promise that will be a place worth going.

Thanks for helping me make it to two years. I appreciate you so much.