This is my forty third blog in two month period. I think that gives me permission to call myself an official blogger. Many people have asked me so far about why I blogg and how I do it. I would love to share my experience with blogging , how I write it and most importantly why I am into it.
Here is my caveat before any further explanation. I was an ordinary student in school and definitely wasn't any language expert. My grammatical mistakes have mortified my parents and teachers in the past both in Marathi(my mother-tongue) language and in English. My current grammar skills are basic at far. English is not my first language and even though living and working in US has helped me quite a lot I am still a novice. One more limitation to note here is the subject matter that I write about. I am a Physical Therapist by trait. If I would have blogged about physical therapy related topics then my writing would have had scientific validity. But I don't blog about physical therapy. This is long ways of saying that I am aware of my shortcomings and whatever I write is my effort to evaluate my feelings /experiences to the best of my ability. My blogs are not intended as an educational lesson to anyone and if anything they may serve as mere basic entertainment. If someone finds any good in it then I won't claim any credit for self. That credit belongs to Buddha and all other great thinkers, writers and motivational speakers that I have learned a lot from.
What do I blog about? My blogs are a good mix of minimalism, human psychology and any day-to-day experience that I find interesting. Most of the times my blogs reflect about the things that I need to change or improve in my own life. I am fortunate to work in the field where I come across geriatric population who share their very personal life stories. I also have my own thirty nine years of first-hand experience which encompasses everything from good, bad to ugly. Frankly those bad/tough life lessons have done the biggest favor to me in my self improvement endeavor. I listen to lot of experts to fill me in on different topics. Buddha is my personal life coach and I am totally impressed with his psychology related teachings. (On the side note-I am just trying to be descent human being and not a monk). Other writers who have great influence on my life are Tony Robbins , The Minimalist, Dan Harris and lot others. I am forever grateful to them.
Lot of people ask me how I write. When do I get time? Truthfully its been a mix of ease and struggle. As a working mother it is difficult to balance job and home life in general. There are days when I get less than enough sleep , I have to cook very simple meals and/or just take time out of my family time. I am not going to glorify blogging... it does take time out of one's day to day life ( sometimes even up to 5-6 hours). I have felt the guilt of not giving 100% to my kids. But I don't want to villainy it ether. De cluttering has helped me to find that extra time in hand. I have tried to keep my schedule simple and easy to follow. I have become more resourceful by e.g. hiring cleaning lady to keep my house clean and organizing my days to avoid any waste of time. Besides if I don't watch TV/Netflix I do get that extra time easily. All in all I have just prioritize blogging /writing as part of my life. Having grit and consistency to write no matter what are another two essentials qualities that I found useful. Here is another important lesson that I have learnt. Before ,when I used to write my blogs ..it used to give me joy if someone liked it and if no one responds I used to feel sad. Now slowly but surely I have changed my outlook. I don't feel anxious even if no one responds to my blog. I am trying to keep myself unruffled as I know that is best for me. I still like to share my writings with others and it makes me happy when someone tells me that they have read my blogs. However, It is just not the measuring stick any more.
Now the most important part. Why I write? I think it just happened one day. Actually in my third blog I wrote about why I need to write. I gave two basic reasons at that time. First is to share my life experiences, my vision, my values to my future generation. Second is to find awareness, to evaluate my thoughts and reflect on my actions. Those are still two very important reasons for me to write.
But since I started blogging I have found few more reasons why I write. Writing gives me pure joy. It puts me in state of flow. When I write my mind is not distracted in hundread other things . Blogging/writing has become a mindful exercise for me. Now I know why it is important to develop a hobby besides job and home. Hobby gives us belonging. It can be anything such as sports, singing, reading , crafting , cooking- anything ...anything that one relishes on.... anything that makes one connect to something larger than self.
One more interesting finding that I found with blogging is that I have become very curious. I am curious about why people behave the way they behave. I listen carefully absorbing anything and everything that I can just like a sponge. Before if some one is angry at me.. I would be ether sad, worried or angry back at them. Now, most of the times, I am just more curious towards their behaviour- and being curious is lot of fun.
There is one more reason. I am very passionate about things like global warming, minimalism and some other social issues. I like to use this platform to express my feelings without offending anyone.
The last and most important thing that blogging has given me is confidence to grow. I want to grow in this field. It has given me purpose apart from my day to day mundane life. I have started with these small blogs but opportunities are endless if I decide to get mature in this field of writing. I just have to put efforts in my new hobby and hardwork is not something that I am scared of.
I really like to Thank all of you for being there with me in my little adventure. As Buddha said we all are interconnected and I feel your support. So I would like to appreciate everyone who has supported me in person or with likes or by just reading my blog as that encouragement is priceless. Thank you all ! And Hurray for writing.:) - Praj101
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