In the past ten days, three of my blog friends have decided to pull the plug on their blogs. These are three bloggers who I have followed for years, and I have built a relationship with. I laughed with them, cried at their pain and cheered at their successes. I have noticed other blog friends taper off how much they post. As I didn’t read any blogs a few weeks ago, I’m guessing I’m in for some other surprise exits.

Conversely, I’ve gained a lot of new followers in the past few weeks: people with brand new blogs. Welcome, if you are of one of those newbies.

So I’ve begun to think that the vaccination has given to a sort of rebirth. People taking stock of their lives- throwing out the things that aren’t working, trying to see what things fit their new mentality. People are starting anew.

I know we do this every year at New Year’s- those “resolutions” that things will be better in the upcoming year. The things that people usually give up on when Valentine’s Day rolls around.

But will this shift in our mentalities be different this time?

Have we survived our darkest hours?

Do we actually realize that we can be “better”? And if not better, maybe just try to do things a little differently because we see the futility? We’ve watched death come knocking and realize that it’s time to live, because the opposite is right there in front of us?

Do we want to start over?

I know that Spring is the traditional time of rebirth- the flowers are beginning to bloom, the leaves are itching to make an appearance. It is nature’s way of saying- Hey- new things are on the horizon if you are willing to open your eyes and look…come join the party…

Are you actively trying to start fresh?

Have you added something new to your routine, or have you tossed aside something that you held onto for far too long?

Do you have a brand new attitude?

Is this truly a time of to start over?

What do you think?

103 thoughts on “Anything Can Happen Friday- Start Again”

    1. I understand that feeling. We’ve experienced a lot in the past year, and we realize now is the time to say what we feel in hopes of helping at least one person. Totally get it!

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  3. This is ‘spot-on’, LA.
    I have no answers because I feel they are unfolding in real-time. In some ways, what was ‘put on hold’ and/or ‘interrupted’ due to the Pandemic is of no consequence at this point. At least in the details of the doing of it. Many goals, personal values have become clearer and stronger – while lesser ones have melted away without much pain.
    I’m still in awe of the fact that a few days ago, standing in line to get my first Pfizer dose of vaccine, that I have made it ***this far*** to be able to stand in line to get that first Pfizer dose of vaccine.
    Along with Spring, your take on ‘newness’ that standing-in-line-revelation has invigorated me 100-fold.
    🙂

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    1. That’s a perfect way of saying it…we are now focusing on the things that truly are important to us vs what doesn’t matter as much. We have a sense of how we want to live now…in the present and how we want to prep for the future. It’s powerful, if we can harness it the right way

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  4. I believe that if you aren’t using this pandemic to reassess how you’re living your life, you’re missing the point of it. This is a global time of change. Not surprised some bloggers are using it to end their blogs, but happy that so many newbies are into blogging now. Yin and yang of life, you know?

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    1. That’s what I thought too…everyone figuring out what works for them. And yeah…reassess….though I have worries about that…but they’re still percolating with a blog to follow

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  5. You know I started my “rebirth” 3 months ago when I left my job. The vaccine for me will mean the ability to take on more volunteer opportunities and possibly do some substitute teaching so I don’t have to get a permanent full time job. So I guess for me it will give me the ability to finish what I started in December.

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  6. Hearing that three bloggers just stopped blogging makes me sad, even though I don’t know them. Or at least I don’t think I know them? I have been blogging almost 11 years, and I have had months where I have wanted to stop but it has become a part of my identity now. After this past year, it has become how I survived. I don’t know if I could live without it. It would be like giving up a limb.

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    1. Blogging definitely got me through the past year…just the ability to write out my feelings both good and bad…for me it was cathartic. I felt better after blogging. But not everyone did…people get through grief differently. The bloggers are Tracey1984, Maggie May and let it go coach if you know them. All really great, thought provoking bloggers who I will miss

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      5. OMG I have started following them (though I’m even farther behind on their blogs than I am on yours) probably because I had gone to their sites based on comments they made on yours!

        I am always starting over, which is why I that’s what I named the blog I started for the Beginning Blogging course. Of course, that title has been used by many, many other people, which is why I will probably stick with my old title for what I want to publish in the wider world.

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    2. I’m the same. Blogging for 16 years and taking breaks but the pull to return and empty my head is stronger than the need to unplug and here I am, continuing. Like you say, it’s part of our identity. Central to our identity, even.

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  7. I’m gonna go all psychological here, because I believe you might be asking: Are the changes we are witnessing and also experiencing for ourselves coming because of what the world has experienced in the last year, or are these simply the cyclical changes of life in general heightened by the presence of the pandemic? Does it matter what spurs people to reflect on life and make changes, or is the important detail that we just “do it” rather than remain stagnant? Do we as humans, with all the trauma we’ve witnessed, need to make sense of and process that trauma by attributions of positivity and growth surrounding the pandemic, because there has to be a reason we have suffered…sort of “finding purpose” lurking within Covid 19? Everyone is going to take something away from this life event based on belief and perspective. If change is needed, and change is made for the better, does it matter what led to that change? So out of the head analysis and into society: the pandemic was/is a social event to be learned from and processed like any other. Any personal growth and change has come in part from that event because of the learned experience. Personally, my life is changing now, again, for many reasons. Some of them I can control, some I can’t. Change because of Covid 19-probably not all that much. Change in spite of Covid 19-much more likely in my case.

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    1. I love when you go all psych on me!! As long as the change is for the better I’m all for it. What I fear are those who will change fir the worse. I’m still formulating things in my head so I can’t really expand on my theories yet. But I’m seeing different types emerge as we exit the pandemic year. But you’ve given me much to chew on

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  8. Times change and we change with the times. I am posting less, writing more, finishing up a project, taking care of husband, working…it is all working, all good and you will still see me in the comments. I might be hard to get rid of but I am still kicking around!

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  9. I don’t know if this applies to other people, but I sometimes wonder whether my blog has run its course after six or seven years; whether perhaps I’ve said all I want to say. I do know I contemplated pulling the plug on it once or twice over the last couple of years, although I’m still here and just following a different schedule these days.

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    1. I had a similar conversation with another blogger friend along these same lines. His was more about the platform…is this the best place fir him to express his ideas the way he wants to, to reach the audience if like minds that he wishes to engage with. We change and adapt as to what we need. I get it. I almost ended last summer, but I just revamped my thoughts about what I wanted.

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    2. I get like this. What could I possibly say after 16 years of rambling on a blog that I haven’t said before? But we continuously reinvent ourselves, especially during the pandemic with more time to reflect. I’ve changed, in more ways than one, and although I take time off from blogging, I find it pulls me back again after a short hiatus.

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  10. I started blogging … what? Three years ago? I hadn’t wanted to start because I thought blogging was dead. We were after that big rush when everyone was doing it, right?

    Now that I’ve got a few years behind me, I can see that it’s like many things I try. I’ll go through periods of up and down and breaks. It’s just like.

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    3. Blogging is not dead. The bloggers I met 16 years ago who all stopped blogging because ‘blogging is dead’ are on facebook with a small-ish community typing the same thing over and over again with the same people commenting the same views repeatedly. I like the blog world, we have diversity, engagement, and global presence.

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  11. I have been struggling with my blog for months now but spring is finally here in our neck of the woods and is rejuvenating my spirit. I am still struggling somewhat. I wonder sometimes if I have anything at all to offer. After blogging fairly regularly since 2016 I am beginning to feel my words are not worth reading any more. A lot of that is due to the weight of isolation and the ongoing pandemic and the overall feeling of inertia. I am so very tired, mentally. The struggle to remain positive in the face of the realities facing the world is exhausting at times. Then I read your blog, or the blogs of others who are equally thought-provoking and uplifting and it helps so immensely. Perhaps I don’t have anything new to say and little to offer. But I will continue to support those who do.

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  12. When I started blogging, I thought if something I said could resonate with or help one person, that was good enough for me. I still feel that way. All we’ve really had over the past year is our own experiences, and blogging has been a way to connect with people when other avenues were blocked. I’m not going anywhere.

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  13. Sliding through Autumn and onto Winter here so not the same sense of renewal and not optimistic about vaccine shots for months. And that’s okay. I think we are trying to get on with life sampling new things, kick new goals, sampling new experiences. That’s okay too. That all includes new projects for me : Art, study, history, social enterprise. My interests are evolving, just like me.

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    1. We have to just keep moving, whether it’s new hobbies or new ideas. It doesn’t mean being busier, just being more thoughtful

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  15. I post fewer yet read more Blogs on WordPress than I ever did, perhaps the reason is the pandemic, but I’m happy reading and commenting the people I follow and posting when I get the urge, and having never written in my life before I still never fail to get a thrill pressing that Publish button……….. and you do get to meet lovely people here.

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  16. Hmm, The pandemic has confirmed several susipicions I had about people and society that I’d hoped I was wrong about (but this isn’t the place for that), but my attitude hasn’t to life hasn’t been changed by it. Everything I can imagine it teaching: about the fragility of life and, because of that, the need to pursue what we want, were already how I lived my life.

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  18. Being one of the ‘newbies’, thanks for the mention! Very interesting post! This pandemic has made me change a lot in my life, my health has started picking up in terms of eating habits, and I have started to become more active. Even this blog I’ve made was a direct result of COVID. While I’m fed up with all of this lockdown stuff, in a way it really was a blessing for me. Hope all is well with you.

    Conor

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  19. Ah, you have such a way of encapsulating things! I’m sorry to hear about the departure of your blog friends. I’m pretty new to the ways of the blogosphere but I hope that for those long relationships you have other ways to stay in touch.

    I like your analogy to Spring. Recognizing that everything has a season probably helps us process all the change in and around us. As a mom helping two little ones navigate re-entry after a year of being at home what I’m noticing is a huge transformation. These little caterpillars are coming out of their cocoons and finding their wings as butterflies but are scared they don’t know how to fly. None of our routines are grooved so we have a chance to do them better as we redefine them. But that it comes at a costs of huge energy because we have to consider all the choices again.

    I remember spending 5 weeks traveling through Ecuador as study group when I was in college. We got back to the airport in Miami, I saw all the foods I hadn’t been able to eat in weeks – muffins, airport nachos and M&Ms, ate them all and promptly threw up.

    So I’m trying to be very intentional about remembering self-care as we “grow through life.” We are adding one activity at a time, making sure it’s something we really want to do and not just busy-ness and taking the great lesson of washing our hands before and after to each thing we do. And take naps…because I’m exhausted but still here!!

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    1. I’m reevaluating everything I want to do, figuring out what is and isn’t important to me. I now really know who’s I love spending my time, what I want to focus on. But it’s going to be a learning curve. I can’t
      T imagine having little kids and trying to reestablish routines! You will develop great relationships is blogs…there are so many wonderful people to come into contact with every day

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  20. I’ve shut down my old blog. Before my husband became sick and passed away, the pandemic really wore on me and my motivation to blog. Once he became sick I just didn’t have the energy or focus.

    I plan on starting a new blog soon, partly focusing on life as a widow.

    Despite not recently keeping up my own blog, I love reading the blogs of others. You have a great blog LA, and ask a lot of good questions!

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    1. Thank you! I look forward to your new beginning! I think we do what we can to get us to the next stage, whatever that may be

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  21. I love spring because I went through winter. I think when you experience a tough time you begin to really appreciate things. I will be glad when I can get outside and work in my garden again, this happens every spring, but this year it feels more like a mission. We are beginning to see the other side even if the whole panda party isn’t over and I think people are now seeing the things they can change for the better. We have missed humanity in so many ways.

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  23. It’s funny I just got a notice from WP that I started my blog 6 years ago! I am definitely not consistent though, at least not at putting out my own posts. I really think it’s part of life to reevaluate where you are, especially as you get older, pandemic or not.

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  25. I’ve noticed the same thing…some bloggers are suddenly just gone. A few have stated their quitting, but mostly those are due to the changes at Word Press and how difficult they have become to work with. (Not to mention that the platform keeps leaning toward commercial blogs and not towards blogs that are simply about writing.) As for starting over when the pandemic winds down, I’d have to say it’s a mixed bag. Some are saying it won’t wind down for at least another year and that a fourth wave and more lock downs are for sure on the horizon, others are predicting a return to normality soon. I think that makes it hard to know how to cope too!

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    1. The uncertainty is crazy. Here my thing…if we are mainly vaccinated, and we are talking about a variant, first off….who is to say the variant will be as deadly as the original? Secondly, the boosters are already being worked on. Thirdly…this is here to stay. To think that this is our new realty is sort if scary and my guess is worse for mental health than the actual virus. I was reading my blog friend Claudette this morning. Canada is still in lockdown. She said her sanity is in jeopardy now. Is this what we want? A world of people on anti depressants? I know I’m ranting (not at you…in general) Safety is an illusion we cling to when life sucks, but it’s an illusion just the same. We need hope…not threats of more shutdowns and forced quarantines of healthy people

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      1. I couldn’t agree more! I think those who are worried are looking at what’s happening in Europe, where the vaccine roll outs have been very slow, and ditto with South America. So far, our vaccines seem to be effective against the variants. But beyond that, just how long can we allow Covid to rule our lives? The lock downs are horrible for our mental health, the economy, and just about everything! I honest to God hope we figure out a better way to deal with a pandemic before the next one hits! And yeah, I’m DONE with the doom and gloom forecasts. Living in fear isn’t living at all!

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    2. Sorry I went a little crazy! I just think people aren’t thinking things out right now and feel scare tactics are the way to go

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  26. Having spent several years doing a major purge in my life, both of stuff and people that are toxic, I’m finally at a point where I have the room, physically and emotionally, to start working on new things. It is part of my reason for doing the craft room. I needed to finally give myself the chance to BE my creative self, to own it, instead of just playing it on the side and around everything else because I was always told it was useless. This last year just gave me the final push to take that step I was already primed to take but was holding back on. I think this last year has just been overwhelming for a lot of people and many just need a change so they can sort of reset, kind of like shutting your computer down after an update.

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  27. A few bloggy friends of mine have closed their blogs…or at least not posted for a long time. Fortunately, I still “see” them on FB and Insta so they aren’t completely lost to me. I’m one of your newbies and I can’t even remember how I found you! But, I’m happy I did for many reasons. I’ve had my blog since May of 2009. I’ve found my muse comes and goes. Sometimes it’s a struggle to find her, but eventually she resurfaces. All I have to do it wait. My blog is more of a personal journaling activity; something my grandkids might like to read once their Nana is gone. But, maybe not!? Who knows? The pandemic should have helped all of us reassess our lives and priorities. The lessons learned will be different for each person and will probably depend a lot on worldviews. Viruses have always been with us with some being particularly nasty. I have confidence the worst has past but we’ll be living with variants now just like we do with the flu. I don’t buy into scare tactics and wish everything wasn’t weaponized like it is now. We were created for relationships and to deprive us of that will only cause more harm. While I don’t know if everything will ever go back to the way it was, perhaps there are activities that do need to be reevaluated and processes changed. To say more will end up getting very political, 🙄 which I don’t feel like doing on such a gorgeous weekend. So, Happy Easter to you and yours and here’s to rebirth and restoration! 🌸

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    1. I think we have to stop scaring people. Right now, it seems like their are people who want the populace dumb, drugged and depressed. That’s a bad situation

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  28. Hmmm. I think for many, yes. I think for many, no. Meaning, that some will see this as an opportunity to do things differently, start anew, be that person they’ve always dreamt of being. Awesome. I also think that some will want to, begin to, and then falter. It’s like that in life though. And? That’s okay. Neither one is better than the other. There is always now. Right now. And, in this moment, who do “we” want to be most. Then, be that. For me? I’ve been in a renewal process for 4 years now. Each moment, every day. Awesome, and very hard. Oh, the divorce is final, by the way. Just yesterday. Exhale. More new emotions and rawness today. Alright, enough of that. Be well. LA.

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  29. I think spring really is more of a time for taking stock than New Years. Now that the weather is warming up, I need to evaluate how much time I want to be at my computer – or maybe a different time of day. I’m really chugging away at this draft of my book and eager to resume some other writing projects while a few trusted friends read this version. I really miss my blog when I take a break from it, so I am not anticipating I’ll be quitting it anytime soon (even when they finally do away with classic editor entirely).

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  30. I don’t know about the pandemic making me see things differently, what it as done is confirmed many things I knew/believed about myself and the world.

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  31. I have noticed people not posting as much, and some are just gone, but I wonder if that’s because after a year or so of lockdown, we’re all just tired of sitting behind our computer screens and want to get out and do stuff in real life. I know I’ve been tempted to give up my weekly posting, esp. now that spring is here, and I’m busy working on other projects but I plug away….cheating with Wordless Wednesdays etc to keep it going….as it’s a fun outlet. If you give up totally, it’s hard to get the readers back, but when I coast, and don’t comment as much I’m definitely getting fewer views too. I wonder if WP has an algorithm set up. The more active you are on here, the higher your blog rates.

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    1. I aLways we Nader what WordPress has cooking behind the scenes..I’m enjoying blogging, but I also understand people who feel the need to let it go…

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  32. I have noticed some of my blog friends posting less or not at all and a few posting more. I have slowed back to once a week posting and catching up with my favorites as I can. Mostly because I’m working more hours than I have planned as we are receiving more vaccines. I miss checking my favorites daily though!!!

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