My darling girl, when are you going to realize
that being normal isn't necessarily a virtue?
It rather denotes a lack of courage.
~ Practical Magic ~
Summer is slowly collapsing into autumn. And autumn brings with it a wind of fresh beginnings and new refreshment. And for me, that includes a bit of a fresh beginning on my wee blog here.
As you may well notice, I have blogged a lot less this year than in the past. I've been blogging for almost nine years and in those years, I have grown and changed and grown some more. I've shifted in this or that thinking, returning to my soul's truth and the real me deep within has slowly been crawling out of her shell. And then, I've grown even more and have learned about myself in countless ways. In lots of ways, I have blogging to thank for at least part of that journey. A journey which I am still on...I think we always are on a similar sort of journey.
And autumn is the perfect reminder of how beautiful it is to let the things which are no longer bringing us good go.
No, I didn't change. I just remembered who I really was.
This isn't a temporary phase.
I worked hard to find me.
I shifted through layer after layer of
bullshit stories I had been told about who I should be
and finally became who I was meant to be.
~ Brooke Hampton ~
The past two years have been especially challenging in this journey for me. I have been sifting through so much in my mind. I came to realize that so much of what I was receiving from the online world was incredibly toxic and damaging for my mind and heart and soul. This goes for the things people have to say about love and relationships, family life and home culture, religious beliefs and systems, styles of parenting and schooling children, dreams and longings, and so much more. It was getting to me in ways that I didn't even realize and affecting my mindset. It brought about doubts and depression, questioning of all sorts and feeling as though the world was just one big fat dark rain cloud. I had lost sight and knowing that there is beauty, goodness and magic out there. All over the place. I had to do something about it.
And this summer, I finally found freedom.
I deleted my social media accounts and haven't looked back once. Not even for a fraction of a second. It was literally the best thing ever! And I no longer read the blogs I used to. I have a couple special ones that I dearly love and enjoy, and those I do frequent regularly. But all the toxic garbage isn't allowed in my life anymore. (And this was strictly something I dealt with online, not in my real in-person life.) The internet has so much garbage that at times, it can be hard to sift through to find the gems of goodness. But they are out there.
Life is simple and so much more enjoyable
when you stop trying to explain yourself to idiots.
Just be real about what works best for you,
and then keep rollin' on down the road.
~ Brooke Hampton ~
And with all of that, came a time to make a decision about my blog. You see, a good number of my previous posts represent things that I no longer believe in or stand by 100%. I debated what to do for quite some time. I decided that I would remove the posts where the majority of the contents were things I could no longer stand by and leave the ones where those were just minor, unimportant things. And instead of beginning a brand new blog, because honestly, I love this corner and space I've built here, I decided to stay right where I'm at. So Ponderings from the Inglenook will remain and continue as it is. And I'm looking forward to adding more posts regularly. A fresh beginning of sorts. Just as summer falls into autumn.
You're right.
I am more than a little weird and a bit awkward.
No, I don't fit in and most people don't understand me.
But at least I'm being real and I think the world
needs more people brave enough to be real.
~ Brooke Hampton ~
I hope you'll stick around this corner...
I have several posts coming up soon that I'm looking forward to sharing.
Over the last few weeks, I've come up with a couple new smoothie recipes that
have become daily favorites in our home and I want to share them with you.
I'm also going to be sharing about the books I read over the summer at
the end of the month...
and I'm just beginning to start writing my annual October 31 day series.
The theme has been decided and I'm over the moon excited about it.
A little hint: if you enjoyed last year's COZY theme, you'll love this year's theme, too!
So there are some fun things to look forward to as autumn slowly inches closer.
Are you excited for this coming season? I'm beside myself with anticipation at the beauty this season holds!
With all that said, I want to say Happy September to you, dear readers...
and I hope you'll stick around.
Lots of cozy fun coming up very, very, very soon.
♥
P.S.- How do you like the new autumn header for my blog?
I always have the best fun designing a header for this favorite season of mine. {{smiles}}