I recently bought Pip Lincoln’s e-book about blogging called “Shake it up”. You can find it here – http://meetmeatmikes.com/shake-it-up-my-ace-ebook-for-bloggers/. I have challenged myself to work through it in search of my blogging mojo. I thought it might help me explore why I’m online at all, and hopefully create a blog that is worth following. If you are interested in the process, I thought you might like to see where Pip’s suggestions are taking me. You might even like to check out her advice yourself 🙂

”Day one” of working through Pip’s e-book and it’s time to reflect on what on earth I’m actually doing here, on this blog, right now.

It is such a simple question, isn’t it? And DUH (can you hear me slapping myself in the forehead?) – why on earth haven’t I really thought this through before? I had no problem working out why I created the Caring Together Art Journal Project, but I’m much more ditzy about this blog.

I’ve had a fuzzy idea why I started it. In fact I have had thousands of fuzzy ideas about it, because that’s the way my brain works, darting in zillions of directions at once, getting all excited, looping around in circles, starting things and then getting distracted by something sparkly.

I’ve let that big WHY mull around in the back blocks of my brain for a couple of weeks now. I haven’t focussed on it, but just let it work itself out on its own, waiting for it to suddenly present me with an answer. Which always comes in the middle of the night of course. When I have nowhere to write it down and I can’t find my glasses.

So of course that’s when it came to me.

“It’s all about courage!” screeched my brain suddenly as I was finally dozing off after letting our blind, diabetic dog back in the door for the 15th time last night.

”And exploring wellbeing!” it screeched again.

Eureka. That was it. (And who needs sleep anyway?)

And the writing was, literally, on the wall. DUH again.

Finding courage and sharing hope is the essence of why I draw, or paint, or sew, or write or blog. No matter what I’m doing, I’m subconsciously relating it back to wellbeing.

My daughter calls me a hippy because I love rainbows and I talk about feelings. If that’s the case then I am a very, very daggy hippy – but an increasingly happy hippy  🙂

It’s a selfish thing, I’ll admit. I play with art materials and write my blog because they make me feel good.

Art helps me get through difficult days. It reminds me to stop and appreciate the moment before it whizzes by. It reminds me that I have survived hard times before, and I will again. It reminds me that everything is not bright and glossy and glittery and perfect, but that we need balance in life in order to really appreciate those sparks of jewel-like brilliance.

It’s about capturing those special moments and really being mindful of what makes them special. And it’s about acknowledging that sometimes the special moment is just about looking down, or around, or stopping in your tracks and taking a big breath.

I am definitely writing this blog for me.

But I am also writing it for you.

I want you to know that you are not alone. I want you to know that there are things we can all do to help ourselves, and I’ll bumble my way down that path ahead of you if it helps. I want you to know that it’s okay not to be perfect. It’s okay to be sensitive. It’s okay to be an introvert (or an extrovert). It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to take some time for yourself. It’s okay to have feelings and emotions and discover all it means to be human.

This is a voyage of discovery. I’m on a continuing mission to explore wellbeing through art journaling, doodles, paint splatters, sketching, lettering and paying attention to the world around me. I hope to find courage and strength and joy. And I hope to share that courage, strength and joy with you.

On the way I want to stop and stroke textured papers, run my fingers across rainbows of colour pencils, and wonder at the joy that comes from glitter glue. I want to experiment with different materials and try new things and learn from other people. I want to delve into my collection of art books, try something from each of them, and tell you which I would recommend.

I want to find people and groups and resources that support my values and share them with you. I want to take my fifty years of hard won experience in life and do something useful with it.

I want to bring together my weird mix of skills and careers and find out how they can work together. I want to make a difference to how other people feel about their lives, and I want to have fun in the process.

And I really hope you join me.

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