crossroads

A lot of people see the onset of autumn as a yearly crossroads.  We feel energized for change and renewal; it’s as if the ripening leaves and drunken migratory birds lure us off tired old paths.  My unanticipated absence from this space probably has something to do with all that.

It’s not good blog form, they say, taking a break without offering some sort of substitution posts.  Or at least some advance notice.  But then again this space has always been more about being true to me than retaining you.  That’s not to say I don’t think the world of you for stopping by and offering support and conversation and encouragement.  I’ve met some really wonderful friends here and for that I’m genuinely grateful. 

Migratory birds over Toronto's harbour.

After a couple of weeks of not being able to face that Typepad dashboard, I reassessed the future of my blog and what, if anything, I want of it.  It turns out my longstanding goal of writing with more candour and openness has not changed, so I wondered if I was resisting that honesty.  Especially as the desire to spend some time just living, without telling the world about how I was going about doing that, was forceful.  With more certainty I know the photo project gave me license to resist the writing part.  That wasn’t entirely unintentional, but now it was time to stand back and decide if this was what I really wanted. 

I’ve not abandoned the photo a day project, though I will admit the “a day” part has gone amiss. Well before the blog break I’d been giving this whole “living out loud” some serious reconsideration.  Blame it on Facebook. 

Lest you think I’m entirely Facebook-Jaded, I still love social media.  I love that people can express their passions and tell their stories on their blogs. I love that Facebook has put me and my extended family and my old friends in back touch with each other’s lives. 

But I have, as should everybody, reconsidered how I want to use these things.  Just as I feel it is an absurd waste of time reading that a Facebook “friend” - someone I barely knew even when I last saw them thirty years ago - has a headache or is making roast beef for supper, I also feel that my daily journal belongs in a bedside book, not on your computer screen.  Some bloggers journal engagingly and with great success.  I, however, am not comfortable merging the public and private.  And because of that, the blog has become as insipid as an average Facebook status update. 

Maybe it’s because I’m happy.  Reluctant Blogger wrote once that she has no desire or need to write when she’s happy.  It’s been a wonderful year and I will cherish this record of it.  But it occurs to me, I don’t want to share every aspect of my personal life with the world – rather I want to share my perspective on that world.

I remain committed to the photo project for the rest of the year, and I will back-post the pictures I’ve been taking while “away.” Maybe a fresh approach on the project will reinvigorate it and, let’s hope, my writing.

Comments

[Steve capelin]

Hey Jenn, I've gone a bit off the boil too. I have noticed I'd rather be writing for myself than writing for the blog. My motivation was to get me writing regularly and it did that. Now that i have a bigger project, writng here seems less important. Maybe your being happy is the key. You don't need "us" as much. Maybe that means we become your acquaintances rather than your ...............? Hope you still have some days where a story hits you and you want to share it. Less is more after all.

[Selma]

I understand what you're saying, Jen. I think it is only natural that the nature of our blogging changes over time and I am so glad you are happy and it's been a great year for you. I hope you keep writing if that's what you want (and also selfishly because I will miss you if you stop) but do what's right for you. I LOVE that photo!!