Switching off the internet & chatty update
Oh spring, you have been busy keeping us on our toes! I actually can't remember a time where I have longed this much for the warmth & brightness of spring to make its appearance- and stick around long enough to really enjoy it!
I mean, this morning was just heaven-sent. Being able to wake up to unbroken blue skies and the sounds of chirping birds busy flitting outside, it lifted something inside me and I couldn't wait to get up and on with the day!
I felt rather inspired to take some photos (I've seriously been lacking in the seasonal blossom category this year!) and also to think about some new posts and pretty bits & bobs to share with you. And pottering about with my camera got me thinking about this lil' old blog and how I've been busy working at creating a better blog/life balance in recent months. And although this has meant quite a decrease in blog content and weeks where I'm not particularly online or posting much on social media, it has brought with it a whole new appreciation for switching off from the online world and living a slower pace; a more real pace.
I definitely find myself getting swept up in the tides of social media- I suppose it comes with the territory of being a blogger and it's part of the reason why over Easter I actually deleted the Facebook app off my phone. What a time killer it has become! But since doing that, I felt a kind of weight lift off me. I didn't feel the pressure to engage with FB and 'see' what everyone was up to or to be part of it 24/7. I also realised that I love the surprise of not knowing what someone is calling you up to tell you- having not seen a rolling profile of detailed life updates. How refreshing!
Sometimes I actually dread to think of the hours clocked up watching screens or holding a phone in my hand and this year I kinda just decided that I didn't want that for my life anymore, or for my kids. I didn't want to experience something awesome and immediately reach for my phone to share it. On the contrary, I desperately wanted to achieve a quieter, more private sphere in which to raise our kids without technology *always* being at the forefront. Afterall, it's how I grew up- using our own imaginations and a huge part of me wants to get back to that way of living.
Achieving balance is the tricky part, especially when the routines and structure of blogging, certainly for me, are very fluid. Some weeks I have deadlines and lots of blog content to schedule and upload, and other weeks are dead quiet; I get to Thursday and realize I haven't posted anything- C'est terrible! BUT what I am noticing about those weeks is that instead of the blind panic ensuing where I think to myself 'oh no, my blog is disappearing down the drain!' (and yes, sometimes I am that melodramatic), instead I think to myself, 'so what?' I spent more hours in the real world and that can only be a good thing.
And often it is, I ALWAYS note how more chilled out I am when my eyes are away from Instagram...funny really!
Anyway, four years in and there are times when I still fumble in the dark for blog content, whilst other times I feel like I have found my calling in life doing this. I'm certainly no Shakespeare but I do love to write and regardless of who reads along, I know this is a little space that brings me joy- I must be doing something write-LOL! :p
