I turned one year old a few days ago. Aren’t you impressed with my strong verbal skills at such a tender age?! In fact, I came out of the blog womb jabbering.
In my first few days of life, I mused on the nature of Compulsive Behavior. Believe it or not, I’ve finally learned how to deal with that problem. Soften into it, smile and be gentle with yourself. The beginning of change is acceptance. If my tendency toward compulsion helped produce this year old blog, then it was worth it. Writing and reading here has been incredibly healing for me. Even if most of what I write has no greater import than that, I sense that it’s value has been appreciated by you.
One of my very first posts was about the Comfort of Friends. I’ve formed many friendships here in the blogosphere. Some have faded, but few have been completely lost. All have been valuable to me. There have been many discussions among bloggers on the nature of blog friendships. They are so tenuous, veiled, ghostly. Yet they can offer some of the deepest healing. Perhaps it’s because people can offer gentle compassion from the safe distance of electronic communication. One blogger friend, Betty, is a good friend in real life, and our real friendship is tempered by our gentle support of each other through our blog comments.
I mused on the Myth of Tomorrow, the strange wisdom of which I often need to remind myself. The quote I listed from the Gospel of St. Thomas resonates deeply as I reflect on how much I’ve shared and learned of myself in the past year.
In the past weeks, I’ve enjoyed the citrine blossoms of the late Winter flowering Witch Hazel bush which lights the way to longer days and dreamy ways. One of my first poems written for this blog features those flowers, also shown in the photo above.
Spring Light
My eyes drift to the garden,
Lifted by soft citrine light
Toward the Witch Hazel’s
Glow, lonely and bright.
Fed by waning day’s lazy rays,
Among burnt brown and grays
This courageous bush
Harassed by Frost
Beacons by it’s spry gleam
Giving patient solace to
Weary Winter’s dream.
Here’s to being a blog year old, and to another fruitful year in this rich and satisfying medium. And here’s to the dozens of friendships I’ve formed through this blog. And finally, here’s to the thrill of freedom and the right to free speech and free thought. Use it or lose it. Blog on. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been spending time with an Albanian friend who grew up under communism.
