Ruminations and Thanks at the Edge of Eleven

With the turning of the new year, I have been thinking about how, in just a few months, I will have been blogging nearly nonstop for eleven years!  That’s a long time in the cyberworld, and I want to thank all of you who stop by, check me out, share your comments, and tell your friends.

Truly, it means the world to me. I long ago quit compulsively looking at my website visitor statistics, because, honestly, I don’t care.  As long as even a few of y’all are finding value here, I am satisfied. (More about that in a minute).

Flashback

While I am being circumspect, I’d like to also thank my friend Vicky, who sat down with me in early April, 2003 and built my very first website. We used Adobe GoLive software to create web pages on my Well.com account, which I’d had for many years.

The Well is legendary in Internet history as the world’s first interactive virtual community. It continues to be a vibrant, magical hangout for some of the most brilliant folks on the planet.

Betraying its hippie roots, The Well is an acronym for Whole Earth (yes, like its founder, Stuart Brand’s, famous catalogs) ‘Lectronic Link. 

Almost as an afterthought, Vicky also whipped up my Beth Owl’s Daughter logo, which was love at first sight and still is to this day.  I am forever in your debt, Vicky!

Several years later, Adobe folded their GoLive web building software into the far more complex DreamWeaver.  I did not want to devote weeks learning new software for such a small enterprise, so I decided to move my blog to Blogger (which I am not even sure existed when I first started).

I continued to post my updates there every day, along with my schedule, announcements, and so on. Another three or so years passed, but soon I was finding Blogger’s format stifling, and often flaky.

That’s when I had a heart to heart with Joanna Powell Colbert, who was just in the process of transitioning away from her website creatrix career. I lucked out, and was one of the very last people to be graced with her dynamic combination of technical and aesthetic skills. At Samhain, 2009, she moved me lock, stock, and barrel to this WordPress site.  Joanna, I am deeply grateful for your work and your friendship.  And Happy Birthday!

So, why am I going into all this today?

Am I Crazy?

I have been thinking about all this blogging stuff.  I admit I sometimes wonder about my sanity.

Until just a couple of years ago, I posted each and every day, no matter what.  I prepared blog posts days in advance when I was going to be away, and because it was before the technology enabling me to schedule my posts, I either had my husband post the pre-written articles for me, or else I would have to find my way to a local library or some other location with an Internet connection so I could upload them.

Why on Earth was I doing this?

As many coaches have pointed out to me, my blog posts are only flimsily connected to my actual business enterprise.  Alas, there is little direct correlation that I can see, between the content and proliferation of my articles turning into sales success, or actual money in my pocket.

I have never sold ads for anyone on my blog, I get no kickbacks from affiliates or sponsors, and I rarely even promote my own stuff in the blog content.

The truth is, I am at heart a writer. It’s what I love most, and for the folks who stop by, my intention has been to add a little magic to your day.

So year after year, I have rambled on about Goddesses, creativity, magic, and various holy days and folklore traditions. I occasionally rant about politics, ponder the Mysteries, share some Tarot insights, and whatever else comes to mind.

But there are changes ahead.  To be honest, I am thinking it may be time to streamline this site. It’s looking a little dated, and could use a facelift.

And so, as sometimes happens in the dark half of the year, that has raised all sorts of soul-searching and insidious self-doubt. Just think of all the extra work that would take! And really, why do I even bother in the first place?

A Gift

And then, with that perfect timing Lady Universe so loves to show off, just as I was feeling pretty discouraged, I got a gift that made every post for the last decade-plus worth every challenge.

And then some.

Yesterday, a note arrived by the post, featuring a beautiful snowy owl.  It was one of the most moving thank you notes I’ve ever received.  And it wasn’t for my newsletter, or my Birthday Club, or even my Tarot readings. It was for my blog.

It was from someone who has been reading my posts ever since those very earliest days on The Well, and has evidently followed right along with all my migrations.

They were writing to tell me that my daily posts have been a thread of hope, fun, and faith during a very long, bleak period, as they tended to a terminally ill family member.

This is especially poignant for me, because as you may know, I devoted several years helping my dad care for my mom before her death in 1997.  I know very well the soul-searing spectrum of emotions — heartbreak, boredom, despair, hope, horror, family drama, exhaustion, and more — that accompany us when we are midwives to a family member’s death.

To know that I was able to help sustain someone in such trying times knocked me to my knees with profound and humble gratitude.

I’ll not name names, but you know who you are, dear one. Thank you, thank you! I am so grateful you took the time to write.  Your letter went to my deepest heart. And it came when I really needed it.

And, again, thanks also to everyone reading this. You, who have shared your precious time with me. You, with the attention span and willingness to move beyond the facile soundbites of social media, and read my (sometimes too!) longish articles.

You, in turn, inspire me, and have encouraged me to believe in myself as a real writer with something to say. If I have moved you, taught you a little something here and there, or helped awaken and sustain your curiosity and love of life, then I am brimming with success.

A thousand blessings to you all, on this journey of a thousand steps. May many thousands more lie ahead for us, my beloved companions.

Blessings all the way.