Breathe, hold on, and keep talking…

Five years ago I began with a question.  “Why blog?”.  I saw writing as a way to think out loud.  A way to start a conversation, both within myself and with others.  Since that first conversation there have been days that words came easily, almost faster than I could record them.  Some days the words were slow to come, filled with rough edges and poor fits. Then there were dry spells.  Sometimes brief.  Sometimes lasting months.  It was after a prolonged word drought that I asked myself, “Why keep blogging?”.

Starting the conversation is important.  I have experienced and observed the harm done when we are afraid to begin talking about hard, uncomfortable things.  The willingness to keep talking is critical.  It is in the ongoing conversation that we know ourselves better. The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Continuing the conversation creates connection and relationship.  When we keep talking, we weave the threads of connection into the fabric of community.

Conversation is about talking.  Conversation is also about being, breathing.  In the discomfort of the dry spell we”re at risk of believing the connection and the conversation are over.  But maybe it’s just winter.  A time to slow down, crawl inside ourselves. To breathe and reflect. To emerge again to listen to the words of others.  To speak the words of community.  So, I will take a breathe, listen, and continue the conversation.