Cross the Finish!

I made it.  I crossed the finish line.  I had hoped I would but always left myself the “out” if I needed. Early in the Slice of Life daily blog challenge one of my sons asked what I planned to do after the challenge was over.  Would I continue to blog? Ever since he asked that question, I have been asking myself the same.  While I was writing my blog I frequently asked myself about my “why” and my “what”.  What was the one thing from my day that was noteworthy?  Why did I feel so strongly about one emotion over another?  Why did I accept the challenge?  What was I hoping to accomplish?  Like all other races or events that I have trained for, the circling in my mind at times became overwhelming.  In my unclear moments, my why became the understanding that life is a journey worth noting and sharing.

I accepted the challenge to blog daily for the same reasons I have accepted other challenges in my life.  I wanted to see if I could.  I wanted to see what I would learn and how I could grow from the experience. I wanted to overcome my fears.  Like all other challenges I could never have imagined what I would gain from the experience. I have gained confidence in my ability to write and express my thoughts.  I conquered my fear of hitting the “publish” button.  I addressed my own preconceived notions of perfection and learned how perfection is the enemy of done.  I learned that clarity comes from starting and walking away for a while.  In hindsight, my favorite posts were the posts that were written effortlessly and in the shortest amount of time. 

Where the blog will go from here I am not sure.  I am sure however that I have been contemplating a writing project for a few years and have found one excuse after another.  I know now that setting a daily or weekly goal for my writing and making the evidence public will encourage me to follow through.  Regardless of where the blog goes from here, I have an overwhelming new insight.  Meb Keflexigi  summed it up well when referring to his new book 26 Marathons, “The greatest achievement in life  is to be satisfied with yourself.” The blog has given me a satisfaction that the history of my life is a story to share, if not for anyone at least for my family and myself and for that I am very satisfied.