DancingMermaid » finding a happy balance

finding a happy balance

swamis11

my friend from phillip was here visiting from germany this past week and introduced us to slack lining. basically it is a rope that you tie between two trees and walk across. easier said then done. i could not manage it without assistance.

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swamis

slack lining is tricky because just when you think you have it, you are flying through the air and landing on your ass. but in the same sense it is super fun to bounce on, like a trampoline. it occurred to me that this is great metaphor for living life. isn’t it just when you think you have your shit together, some random force of nature challenges you to a new obstacle? or when you think you are healed and/or evolved for five minutes, you discover there is a whole other layer of issues you were not aware you had?

at this point in my life, i can only laugh. this is not to say i think hard subjects are funny. there are not. but i am learning to not take myself too seriously. i want to give myself room to fly off a rope or discover something about myself that may not be desirable. i am tired of being afraid of everything. i want to listen to that little voice that whispers, “what if you just let go today?”

another thing i feel that i may have taken too seriously is this blog. i love my blog, i do. but i have struggled like so many others with where am i going with all this? where is my direction? what is my theme? what do i want to share and not share?

and over and over i see these same questions on other blogs, these same worries. i sometimes feel a bit disconnected from the blogging community…yet we are all connected in our doubts and needs. i am starting to think we all have a lot more in common than we think.

so in this spirit, i am going to make an effort to share a bit more about the everyday bits here. write about my mermaid and surfer friends and our ordinary adventures. and more projects. lets do more art together. i know how to use a video camera now and i am not afraid to use it. making small goals instead of getting overwhelmed with changing everything all at once.

what about you? are you leaving room to share the ordinary moments on your blog? or do you wait for something profound to say? please share.

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My blog is completely random. It has no real theme, other than my life, if you can call that a theme. A couple of months ago I was really questioning whether or not this was ok. It seemed that everywhere I turned, bloggers were talking about tightening up their themes, focusing on making a statement, or cornering a market, and working within the parameters of their chosen topic.

I’ve finally made peace with the fact that while I’ve got a small core of devoted readers who seem to like what I do in my space, I may never have a high-traffic site due to my lack of “focus.” It’s ok. It’s more than ok.

Personally, I hope you do include more bits and pieces of your day to day life. It’s that sort of thing that draws me into a blog, and makes me feel enough of a connection with the author to want to keep coming back.

i am totally giggling as i read this because today, i posted a totally silly, dorkilicious post. nothing meaningful, nothing earth shattering, just me. i think i need to do that more often, just share the ordinary … i am so with you on this, uh huh. xoxox

i admit i am very cautious about what i put into the universe. there is so much i want to say and to show others but i give it out in bits and pieces. i suppose i find security in anonymity. but i am so so proud of you for being brave stepping out of your comfort zone. it seems so simple, but i totally understand what a big deal it really is for girls like us

For years I was writing mostly when I felt I had something important or amusing to say. I’ve always had an issue with censoring myself, and since I’m a writer, I wanted to get over that. So for the past few months I’ve been blogging about almost everything… I write it for all to see, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and my experience so far in doing so has been great. It’s been therapeutic and has made my blog a lot more interesting (at least I think lol). I think that’s what people like the most in a blog, when you express yourself truly and let the readers get to know you and your trials and triumphs. It’s a whole other world of blogging

i got to that blog question about a month ago. I felt like I wasnt putting “good enough” stuff out there, as traffic was low. I found I was doing it more for everyone else, and it was a lot of pressure and not very fun. I decided then to take a break. I still visit others blogs, pretty much daily. I miss mine. I want to find my place in all of this. Maybe I do live a simple life, but what the heck, ya know?
Thanks for this post- just last night I was in tears w/ my guy, saying I was so tired of being afraid to try things. Creative artsy things. i DO want to get past the fear, and I guess I’m processing…. i still dont know the HOW. Sure I can force my way thru it, but i’d love to find an enjoyable way…
We are all connected- I do believe that. We do share much in common. love to you Mccabe!!!!

hey there GORGOUS Mermaid sister! i wonder~ can a butterFLY & a mermaid be sisters?? i think so! …and YOU, and my mermaid sister!
first of all~ i MUST tell you~ you are AMAZING & BEAUTIFUL & have ABSOLUTELY INSPIRED me in the past weeks~ out of a slump! i haven’t done much art lately~ & since your class, & looking at all of your amazing photos~ and finally being at a place in my own life, where i CAN do WHATEVER the fuck i want to~…i am LOVIN it!!! i did a painting the other day~ start to FINISH in one day! (that’s a record~ i usually drag them out … but, it’s TOTALLY different than anything i’ve done before & i got the idea from looking at your sketchbook pages u posted a few posts ago…
it’s SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE! so happy! so joyful! so alive! i think i will share it~ BUT, it’s a pic of me & my cutie-pie boyfriend~ so, i’m a little hesitant. NOT because i don’t want to share or show our cupcake LOVE~ but, because there are certain angry, obsessed people monitoring my blog~ (if u know what i mean
so~ for now, know that u have inspired this butterfly to get off her ass & get livin!
LOVE YOU TONZZZ!
e
p.s. my kids & i are now IN LOVE with painting rocks!!!

I am not very focused when it comes to my blog. I was really good for awhile at interviewing people then i started “slacking”. Anyway, i feel weird writing anything to personal.
I do love reading other people’s blogs though and checking out what they are doing.
PS-i have a slack line in my yard

captain, my captain:
the ordinary is the extraordinary. beauty all around,
wendy

But we do,
put one foot after the other,
open the window, make coffee,
watch the steam curl up and disappear.
At night, the scent of phlox curls
in the open window, while the sky turns red violet,lavender, thistle,
a box of spilled crayons.
The moon spills its milk on the black tabletop for the thousandth time.

-anne sexton

I totally started my blog to be present and honor the ordinary day to day things. I’ve never been a very “deep” person full of profound things to say and have struggled with this as an artist. I’m not angst ridden and don’t really have anything to “say” or comment on in my art or photography, so how can it be worthy art, right. Well, I just like pretty things and noticing what’s around me. And if that is what my art and photography are about then the one thing I do know is that I’m being authentic.

My blog is pretty much random, although I have not posted anything lately just because I am so busy right now, which would be the perfect time to post and put stuff on there, right?

Okay, I SOOO want to try that slack lining!

And your timing about talking about thinking you have your shit together and then wham! something happens in your life to challenge it is SOOOOOO what I’m going through right now.

I can’t wait to read about all your randomness!!

I am in the same place, not knowing what to write or how much to write, the inner critic working overtime. Waiting until I have “something good” to write or making up excuses, like I’ll wait til I have a cute pic to go with it. I’m glad I read you blog today, and I think I’ll start just random writing as well. Thanks! Love your blog. I’m a mermaid too!

Our lives are made up out of all those bits and pieces. Put them together and they make magic! I can’t wait to see more of yours.

Oh, I so know about the Universe pulling the rug out, if for no other reason than to make things interesting. And the one thing I’ve found as I’ve aged (and I am guessing I am older than some of your readers here) is the freedom to not take it all so seriously. Hardly anyone pays attention to you after 40 anyway … it is liberating!

Personally, I am drawn to the blogs that share all the fun, silly, deep, messy, painful and joyous and seemingly ordinary moments in life. I enjoy a good theme, sure, but often they can feel forced. I am finding so many of us “out here” are craving more connection in a world where we are all too busy to do so in person. I love curling up with my mug of coffee and feeling like I’m sitting across the couch listening to a friend tell me about her day. And to rephrase a great statement: the goddess (or mermaid?) is in the details.

Thanks for sharing this … I have pondered starting my own blog, “just for me” but wondered about the pressure to start thinking about an audience. I have a private blog about my daughter and sometimes I feel I am sending it into cyberspace … but I remember it is a record for her and one day I will transfer the journal entries into a book.

Anyway, I can tell you 2 of us LOVE knowing there will be more ideas for art projects … you are spreading the love – xie xie ni! (thank you)

i think this is just the motivation i needed love.
thanks so much for that.
so true, we have a lot more in common than we may think.

like most, i think it’s best to write unedited. Say what you feel that moment, that day and don’t think twice. when i have tried to perfect a post or keep it focused on what issue, it is never as good as one where i just say what i feel and go with it. people who read your blog do it because of all the wonderful, uplifting, silly, joyful and random things that are shared. i know it’s hard not to, but don’t think too hard about it. just write…and post a pic or two, love those!

YES. I think there is somewhat of a Collective Consciousness going on in this blogging world. It’s pretty amazing, when you get right down to it. It seems lots of people are experiencing much of the same thing.

Anyway, I understand how it is to question where you’re going and who you are and what this whole blogging thing is for. But, I suppose the end of the path is to share yourself, to immerse yourself in your own humanity, and hope that you can make that connection, that magic spark that ignites someone else to live with more freedom, happiness, and with more truth.

Your truth is powerful, and I am glad and grateful for that. Thanks for the inspiration, and for the look into the beauty that is your life. I hope to take some of that with me into mine! xo

girlfriend, if i waited to post when i only had something profound to say, all you would hear over at my blog would be the sound of silence and the occasional crickets chirping… it would be a ghost town.

I love this! For me, I am finding the deeper I go within myself…the less I have to say…which is strange because I feel more open. Does that make any sense at all?

The everyday stuff is our real lives, and as much as I want to be profound… well… today I wrote about pie.

Thank you my mermaid friend. Today I relinquish control and surrender. Love, Angie

I tend to blog the way I talk. If I think it, it comes out my mouth or keyboard. lol But I love blogs that do that. Some days I don’t want to read anything profound. I just want to see the ordinary that happened in someone else’s life and it somehow makes me appreciate the ordinary in my own just a little bit more.

I get to do an art journal party with kids at a Survivor Art Festival!!! I’m so excited. I knew it was important for me to take your class but wasn’t sure how I was going to utilize it and then the Universe said, “here, do this with it!” Thank you, thank you, thank you McCabe!

I most definitely include the everyday moments in my blog – maybe even too many every day moments!

I’m beginning to realize that my blog is like a self portrait, or a journal that lets me keep track of my creative growth. And connectiing with other bloggers makes me feel like our world is much friendlier and more personal.

I keep thinking about having daily themes, but as time goes on I realize that the daily theme thing just isn’t for me right now (but maybe it will be somewhere down the line)! So much of what I share in my blog is just a release of creative energy – I’m pretty sure it’s more for my benefit, though having readers is always an added bonus.

And you are so right….we all sure do have a lot more in common than we think!

Have a wonderful Tuesday, Mermaid Friend!

I blog for me. It is my art journal, story book, photo album, and networking tool. No theme, no plan, no structure. I have met so many lovely friends thru my blog. I am very open, random and free. I love my blog. and the bonus is that so many others enjoy it also! Blogging has opened up a new venue for like minded mermaids to swim in the same waters! ~ wink~

hello
just lately, i’ve been wondering how much i share and how distant i should be (in terms of avoiding the specific). i found out my brother & sister in law have been reading my blog, but hadn’t said a word and that made me feel kind of odd. this week, i’ve shared only a recipe on my food blog and spent the rest of the time pretty much avoiding it all… i watched the last of your warrior classes last night though, & i know that in some form or another i want to stay online.
your blog is a constant inspiration for me ~ thank you.
xo

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finding a happy balance

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