31 Days of...

Last year, I connected with an online link-up thingy (see what I did there with my fancy noun?) and blogged for 31 days straight. 

Every day in October, I posted something that I "noticed". That was my prompt; 31 Days of Noticing. Posts like this one, about kindness, and many other. Thirty others, in fact.

It's the most consistent I've ever been as a blogger, and it felt good. It was good, in so many ways. It kept me accountable, helped me to pay attention, honed my writing skills.

It also kept me connected.

There's a weird balancing act, in this day and age. Social media allows for instantaneous feedback - or silence. Writing within a real life and a virtual community inspires connection and comments - or not. I confess; there are times when the reaction to a post carries a tremendous amount of weight. There are other times when a post just hangs out there with little attachment; it is what it is, and that's enough.

I make no claims as a writer, but I do write. It is cathartic and part of the way I live my life. Some would say I live too much out loud. I hear those cautionary words.

But again, the balancing act; and the delicate, fragile beauty of daily rhythms of life. In a long conversation with my daughter today, one who lives far way, I alluded to the moments that I hold in my heart. Unbloggable, untweeted, far from Facebook - quiet moments of immense beauty, boisterous, joy-filled exclamations and whispers. They happen daily, and they are mine.

I think that is the balance; knowing what belongs where, and carefully choosing where to place it.

In a few days, I'll start in on my 31-day challenge. I will link up here, and I'll be in a tribe of folks who work like I do to be consistent, to get through it, to just do it.

I am still contemplating my focus. It will be as much something I need as something I want to share. I have a few ideas...

Maybe a color - probably blue - and the requirement to find something of that color every day and write about and around what that thing is.

Maybe "love your neighbor as yourself" and an honest effort to ncorporate that into my life on a daily basis.

Maybe music - I listen to music every single day, and it's eclectic, so maybe an examination of something I listen to - and why.

Maybe an examination of 31 of Barry Manilow's greatest songs. 

Or not...

Starts next week. In fact, I think October begins on Wednesday, so we're just a few days away.

Anybody want to join me?