This, friends, is a baby blog. Although it has lived for years in my heart, it is in its infancy here in the world wild web. (Yes, that was intentional.) We have had a dream in our minds for years, and while we watched our children grow into adults, lived in and loved a single-family home, it has been an absolute treasure to step into this dream come reality. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can read our story here. Truly, though, in a world of Pinterest perfect pictures and Instagram worthy stories, career trajectories and retirement funds, it’s hard to know where we fit. Maybe you feel that in your soul. If you do, this article may help find your place.
Find Joy in the Moment
Here I am again, preaching to the choir. It’s me. I’m the choir.
It is easy to see a photo on Pinterest, follow an Instagram Influencer, or daydream about what you wish your life looked like. But finding joy in the moment is the first and simplest step to finding your place.
When starting a blog, one dreams of writing inspirational pieces, teaching beneficial lessons, and generally spreading hope and good cheer. At first, you see growth. You gain subscribers. Excitement builds and you bask in the wonder of it all. And then….Google changes the algorithm and the hundreds of readers you were reaching dwindles down to tens and twenties. Slowly, you build back and you find yourself writing for the algorithm just to keep up. This, friend, changes the joy you first felt into striving. Striving transforms into and couples with comparison. And your perspective changes from one of excitement to one of frantic searching for the next topic that reaches the masses, or potentially goes viral.
Whether you are a blogger, a writer, a mother, grandmother, friend, neighbor, sister, or co-worker, it is impossible to find your place if you are caught up in comparison and striving. Finding joy in the moment is how you separate yourself from striving and comparison. You find joy in your lunch break, your morning walk, the sound of the birds singing at dawn. You stop comparing your journey with someone else’s journey. Especially if you don’t even know the person you’re comparing against. No one is perfect, and their lives aren’t perfect. That instagram story….that Pinterest perfect picture…. it’s all for an algorithm. Discover what brings YOU joy, and find joy in the moment you’re in right now! It doesn’t have to look like the photos online, and you don’t have to keep up with influencers to find joy.
Take Necessary Breaks
While I got caught up in writing for the algorithm, I forgot to find joy in the moments. I had several posts in queue and decided to take a couple of weeks off to reassess what I wanted. Do you know what I found? I didn’t want to write for the algorithm. I wanted to write for people. Real people. The ones who know what they’re looking for, the ones who know real writing from AI-written articles. I wanted to write to you and for you. I would rather have twenty readers who are genuinely interested than hundreds who aren’t.
In order to find your place, you have to know when to take necessary breaks and to allow yourself to take them. I write a lot about autumn being a season of reset. I believe each month allows us an opportunity to experience twelve New Month Resolutions. It’s no secret I believe we can all start where we are and become the person we want to be. That, my friend, is finding your place. But it all begins and ends with knowing when to rest.
Recognize the Seasons
Seasons come and go, we all know this. I’m sure you’ve heard the Ecclesiastical passage, “To everything there is a time and season. A time to live and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to sow. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing…” The seasons know, too, when it’s time to rest. Autumn brings in shorter days and longer nights. Winter brings about a hibernation of the earth.
Just as the earth follows seasons of growth and rebirth, it also follows seasons of rest and reset. Recognizing these seasons in your life, and allowing yourself to feel them, experience them, and find respite in them, is how you find your place. We spend so much of our time trying to keep up, maintain the hustle, and stay on top of our lives, that we end up burnt out, exhausted, and lacking joy.
Recognizing the seasons and following earth’s example is an amazing practice. I used to be one who turned on every light in the house as soon as the days grew short. I wanted to absorb as much light as I could. When I recognized the earth rests and grows dark, and it’s okay if I observe this pattern too, I truly started to feel more relaxed. Instead of turning on every light I could, I lit a few candles, dimmed the bulbs, and just embraced the season.
If you’re looking for rest, longing for respite, and feeling burnt out, try settling in once a week with some softer lighting. Spend a few minutes reading something for pleasure. Play some soothing sounds in the background, and embrace the fall and winter as a season of rest. In short, romanticize your life, and I think you’ll find your place and start to feel more rested, too.
Allow Yourself to Be Unique
When writing a blog like this, there are all the things SEO related to consider. There are keywords to research, questions to answer and value to add. Those are all very good things, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, your unique self gets lost in the language. This blog may fail miserably in the scheme of ‘successful’ blogs. I may not earn Amazon commissions or partner with companies who wish to advertise. That’s okay. I would rather be true to myself and to you than to forfeit authenticity.
Allowing yourself to be unique may look like giving up a side hustle. It may mean not following the latest trends in fashion or home design. You may find your place in a community of like-minded people when you allow your uniqueness to shine through. Fitting inside of a box that you’re uncomfortable in, isn’t a good place to be. Allow yourself to be unique, and you will find your place.
As we tell people of our adventurous semi-nomadic lifestyle, they automatically say, “Oh! You’re gonna buy an RV.” And we say, “No. We’re just going to rent along the way.” It’s when we start to explain the how’s and why’s they start to understand the uniqueness of our plan. Our blog is named Forward Our Mail because….well, we’ll have to do that each time we move. The tagline is “Because living outside the box is where adventure begins.” That’s because being unique and living a unique life sometimes means living outside the box – but it is most certainly where adventure begins.
Be Unapologetic When You Are Found
When you find your place, things may change for you. You may realize you want to change careers, or move to a new city, or take up a new hobby. When you find your place you may start to live outside the box and find adventure. You may learn to enjoy seasons of rest, take necessary breaks, and allow yourself to be uniquely you. You don’t have to apologize. Find joy in these moments. Embrace the newness of you. Learn to linger, to live, and to love in this new place you’ve discovered.
As for this blog, algorithms come and go. They change like the wind. One day we’ll have hundreds of guests, then next we may have ten. It all depends on how the algorithm decides to broadcast our little corner of the world wild web (yes, it was intentional.) We do have a free subscription where we can stay in touch. I have plans of starting a newsletter in the coming months. You are invited to come along with us. But if this isn’t your cup of tea, that’s okay. I guess if you’ve read this far it might be.
Whether you subscribe and join us or find your own adventure, I hope you find your place, and when you do, don’t forget to forward your mail!
Cheer, everybody!
