The Why Will Tell the How

I started my blog, Shalavee.com , to have a place to hone my writing skills. I rose to the challenge to write and post regularly. For several years, I even posted every day in October just to prove it could be done. I have loyally provided regular new content to my readership three times per week. Until the pandemic threw me off.

And as I began to think about what I wanted my new blog to look like (an eventuality and source of great torment), I thought that I no longer want to do what I think I should do. Instead, I want to do what makes me happy.

I began to write to share my thoughts. And I found it’s equally marvelous to allow the catharsis of writing as it is to share and discuss thoughts with others. I found such an amazing group of like minded people online which I never expected. And this has shown me that a community is where I am happiest. Not typing away in silence and talking at people from far away.

So my Why is to connect, commune, and communicate with people. And I’ve decided that I will spend a little less time posting my blog content and a little more time engaging people in discussions about what I’ve already said.

To this end, I will be changing my posting times from Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:30 am. I will also be doing a monthly newsletter again soon to engage people. And I will continue to be on Instagram but perhaps not daily as I’ve done for years.

I’m clearing space out in my life to take myself more seriously. It’s been a long time coming and I feel I finally understand that whatever makes me the happiest is the right thing to do. And here’s to hoping that my loyal readership wants to see me happy too.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

My 9 Year Blogaversary

My Blog at Shalavee.com, the home for my consistent creative writing outlet, turns 9 years old this month. She was born from a need to commit to my creative writing. She was an excuse to come out of my shell and show up online. And what I found out about myself through my honest words and connections with people in the world was that I had unlimited thoughts to convey and words to express them with.

I have regularly owned my words and shared them out loud on my blog. My thoughts weren’t always greeted with kindness and I was so insecure when I first started on social media, I was terrified to “friend” people. But over time, as with anything, I learned how I wanted to use these communication tools to communicate in a way I was comfortable with. I have since created long term friendships with and been witnessed by some pretty terrific people.

The blog helped me to discover I had an honest voice and people appreciated this. Through my blog, I discovered who I am to the world and to myself.

I am a Creativity Ambassador. I am a Mid-Life Mom. I practice Creative Soul Living and look for Wisdom Lessons in my everyday life. I don’t shy away from my truths and give them away freely in my Soul Selfies on Instagram and blog post essays. I spent many years as an Anxiety Warrior and finally allowed medication to help me over the unmovable hump to progress with my writing and blog and claim a new place in the world of words and thought leaders.

There is some big beautiful juicy things I can do here on earth through this outlet if I only envision a plan and get on with the business of writing it into reality.

See my 8th blogaversary post here. See my 7th blogaversary post here. See my 6th  here. My 5th here. My 4th here. (pictures may not appear until the new sight is up).

Just you wait!

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

A Guest Blog Post on Self-Bullying for Attract Readers.com’s International Women’s Day Roundup

I have had the privilege of “meeting” and conversing with many lovely people online, two of which have a blog called Attract Readers. Jean Wolfe and Ute Wieczorek-King both have impressive backgrounds in writing, marketing, and business training/mentoring and the purpose of their blog is to simply help bloggers get read.

Bloggers understand how this may be harder than it seems and we respect the efforts of each other in making our readership grow. Attract Readers, in honor of International Women’s Day, asked for people to write and contribute blog posts on a women’s issue which were then published on March 8^th. The hope is that people will follow the blog post back to the bloggers home blog for more interaction.

The topics were to be for “mid-life women with lively minds” on a subject personal to you. I said I’d love to offer them this piece on self-bullying. It was the perfect excuse to make it real. And I am very pleased at the way it came out. The magic is in the editing process. I must have edited it 20 times.

Follow this link https://www.attractreaders.com/self-bullying/ to read my piece, look around at the other posts, and let me know what you think and how you felt when you read it.

I will be forever grateful to Jean and Ute for their tenacity in wanting women’s voices to be heard. I think the world needs to hear our stories but I also think we need to hear ourselves tell our stories to make an impact on our lives as well.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

Mid-February Catch-Up, 2020

During the holidays, I stepped back two steps and waited and watched my life and my choices to decide what I truly wanted to do and why. I posted less and have been skipping posts because I am still in this discerning what is important and me and what isn’t. I began talking about this several weeks ago in this post.

What I doing in the meantime is working on a visually and functionally updated blog. This is a very tough process. But with the help of kind designers and my therapist, I am making progress toward an outcome that feels exciting and not oppressive. A place where I can just be myself instead of a person I think people want me to be.

I am currently excited to be working on a blog post based on the Women’s Day theme which will be published elsewhere. And this is allowing me to write something I had already begun to be excited to write and enables me to consider what kind of presence I want to have on my blog too.

We lose sight of ourselves sometimes. Forget who we are. Search for ourselves in others’ words or in our surroundings. And I can say I am more quickly finding myself in places. I find myself in the kind and enthusiastic voices of my online friends. I saw myself in the chestnut that sits next to a photo of my 20 something hair which was that color.

There’s no one out there giving us permission to be us. We are our own gatekeepers in that game. And I also know that life is not meant to be painful and sad. I am aiming for fun and connection in this year and I know that this address at Shalavee.com holding some of those opportunities and answers.

So if you are a regular reader, I hope this gives you something to hang in there for. And if you are a new reader, welcome and I look forward to having you here when things get interesting.

Much Love,

Shalagh

What Do You and I Expect From Shalavee in 2020

I’ve been keeping this on the down low but there’s really no going back so I might as well share it with you. The blog is actually (for reals) getting revamped. And I can not tell you how stuck and petrified I am.

See at 53, I am no longer eager and naive. I have been writing this blog for near 8 years and still have never had a new format or a bunch of readers. All I needed was just to have a place where I could practice writing and publish my thoughts several times a week. An online journal, as it were, where others could be inspired.

And it has been that way for many many years now. I do not have sponsors, I don’t do giveaways, and I don’t have a huge following. I could always blame it on my outdated platform and that way I’m excused from caring. But today I can tell you that I am progressing, like it or not. And I am scared.

I’m scared that I won’t have as much freedom to just not care. I’ll have to bring bigger and badder and start to care about numbers of followers and likes. But I’m here to tell you, I’m truly devoted to one thing; giving my readership what it has come here to receive.

To that end, I have decided that there are three categories that I truly love to talk about and ponder, besides just generally my life process which is a combo of all of the following. Those three categories are Creativity, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery & Anxiety. So if you are here because of any of these then Yayyyy! And if you are not then I’m curious what else I share that is of interest to my regular readership. Direct message me however you feel comfortable and let me know. Meanwhile, I have to go back to working on what I want to look like when I come out of the blog closet.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.