365 Inspirations—69: Still Blogging

"You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Put blinders on and plow right ahead."—George Lucas

 I guess my inspiration today is that I made it here at 11:11pm. It's been a challenge. It's the end of the quarter and I have over 60+ tests to grade. I can't wrap my head around all that I have to do in about ONE WEEK before I leave for Hawaii for a yoga retreat with my husband. More about that later.

So my inspiration today is that I'm here. I'm still blogging. That is inspiration enough.

I'd like to say that I have something amazing and phenomenal for you to read about today. I'd like to say that I was able to read all of your blogs and comment on them. The truth is, coming here tonight with one hour left in the day is about as inspirational as it is going to get. The fact that somehow I'm still blogging and have made it 69 days is remarkable in itself.

I'm still here and blogging, that IS the inspiration.

My hands are pressing keys right now. I'm typing and words are coming out. I'm writing, I'm blogging....I'm doing it.

The thing is, life isn't always phenomenal and amazing—or even that inspiring at times. Still, I try to find something that inspires me each day, even if it seems small.

I am going to try to take it moment by moment and I will get through this week. I will keep going and I will keep blogging here through it all!

Thanks for reading and commenting and please bear with me. This is what life is all about. It's about keeping at it, even through the tough, busy times. It's about sticking with things, even when you feel you are on the brink of throwing in the towel and running off somewhere never to be heard from again.

I'm still here. That's all I can say tonight.

Thanks for sticking with me friends!

Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel on something you've been doing because it just seems too hard? How did you keep going?

365 Lessons-Lesson 266: Walk through the Pounding Rain

When the rain comes (rain being a metaphor for anything difficult) the tendency is to run for cover. Why not walk through the pounding rain? Why not walk out in the midst of it all exposed? What could happen to you? Maybe something unpredictable is in your cards; a turn of the tables, so to speak.

This morning at around 9am, my husband was eager to go walking. I looked outside at the clouds of doom and raindrops already starting to fall and all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball in my bedroom with warm, fuzzy socks on.

Instead, I threw my non-waterproof raincoat on (sin in Seattle) and headed out into the elements. In the car driving over the Ballard Bridge, the rain was coming down in sheets. This was not walking weather, yet we were on our way.

Once at the park, there was no turning back. We were hiking and that was it. The rain started to let up a little as we got to the beach. All the sudden, amongst the barnacles, broken clam shells, seaweed, and a mad circle of seagulls, I saw too little eyes peering up at me on the beach. I almost stepped on this tiny, little thing.


What was it? Could it be a baby Harbor seal? The mother had left it on the shore in search of food. The little guy looked scared. It made little squeaks at us. I knew not to touch it or move it. If the mother smells human hands on her baby, she will abandon it. I was worried, however, that the mother had forgotten where it was. It was so far up on the shore now.

A sudden break in the rain had revealed this angelic creature to my husband and me. I couldn't help but take it as a sign. Seals, as you may have read from earlier posts about my book writing adventure, have a important meaning to me.

I had to go out in the pouring rain to find this jewel. My jeans were now thoroughly soaked, but we kept walking. We were committed to the walk and no sleet, hail, lightening, thunder, or hurricane was going to stop us.

Lately, I've been a bit saddened. I haven't heard from several blogging friends who used to comment regularly on this blog. Where did they go? Are people still reading it or am I writing it just for me. Should I stop writing it? Should I put it aside? Do I have anything more to say? All these thoughts go through my head and then I remember one very important thing.

I've committed myself to this walk. Let the rains come, I'll continue on. When things get difficult or boring or monotonous or I feel like I'm at the end of my rope and I'd rather turn back, go inside and hide under the covers, that's the time to continue I've learned.

The seal was a hidden jewel in the rain today. Something I wouldn't have seen if I decided to stay indoors. When we least expect it we will find that everything we were hoping for is already there, waiting for us in the pouring rain.