The Experiment – A 365 Day Search For Happiness

Yesterday I wrote about my fears around handling the practical aspects of life. One of my regular readers left a comment saying “I believe you’ve just found your blog theme for the next 365 days, as you chart your journey through Practical Matters.” It really struck me. I am not quite finished with this current blog experiment but I have known I would want to keep blogging daily after it was over because it has become a very important part of my life. And so I wrote a little note on my phone, “A Year Of Practical Living: For The Elderly, Infirm, Or Anybody Who Lives Alone.” There is potential there, and I can see having interesting blog posts coming out of practical experiences, but 365 days of it? That sounds a bit much.

This morning I got a lovely long email from another long time reader. She was thanking me for yesterday’s post and she wrote, “First of all, so much of what you have written over the past few nights has been close to what I too have been feeling. I’m only a year younger than you and, like you, I feel that lack of direction, that fear/vulnerability when something goes wrong. What I want you to know is that not only are you not alone, you are helping others of us who can, at times, find it hard to find the words to explain where we are at in life.” I read and reread her long email and then I sat here thinking about it all.

It seems to me that my “target audience” is primarily women who are midlife and older. I do have younger women who read my blog as well as some very dear men, but if my audience is mainly women in their mid to later years how might I best serve them, I wondered? What might I write about that could be helpful and not just me always rambling on about my struggles and days and what is going on in my life? Of course the latter will always be part of my blog because that’s what a blog like this is all about. The universal is in the personal. But what if I learn things along the way that could be helpful to you, dear reader? What would that be? I am really hoping that you will take time to write to me in the comments after this post, or you can use the contact form on my website here, or you can write to me directly at maitrilibellule@gmail.com. I would really love to hear from you. It will help me shape my work as it unfolds in the time ahead.

Today I am getting ready to go to therapy, and then will do a couple of errands. Tomorrow my eldest daughter and her family arrive for a few days from Chicago and I am so excited. Two of my 3 children live out of town and it’s so hard for me to have them so far away so it is a special delight when they can come for a visit, and my two young grandsons aged 3 and 6 will be here and I can’t wait to squeeze them! It was only yesterday that my 3 children were that young, wasn’t it? And now they are 35, 38 and 41. It simply does not seem possible, but so it is.

The years are fleeting. We must grab hold and treasure every moment. And then, in our own lives, we must learn how to cope as best we can with the practical matters as well as the matters of our heart. And there are those of us who have dealt with, and will deal with, mental health issues all the days of our lives. I will of course write about that but I don’t want that to be the sole focus of my blog. There is the ketogenic diet, and there are the questions around whether it will ever be possible for me to find my way back to the garden in a way that is comfortable and sustainable. There is the writing I will do, a book I hope to write, and the gentle, healing writing classes that I teach. There are of course pugs and a wee beta fish who is here beside me. There is so much more.

What would you like me to write about dear reader? What do you want to hear? What might I be able to help you with, and how might I serve? These are my questions for you today. I really want to know.