There are so many diverse people and approaches to blogging in the WordPress community.
It makes me reflect on what my motivation for blogging has been, and to be curious about how others have experienced blogging. (Please add a comment below if you would like to share here)
I started blogging as a way to express myself and to share my message to more than one coaching client at a time. Back in 2014 and 2015, the posts I wrote were to provide new insights to specific clients and others wanting to see things more clearly or to bring about change in their lives.
It was also a way for me to become known and a platform for sharing what mindfulness, yoga and Finding Your Middle Ground was about.
Here, my passion grew and blossomed as I found community with like minded people around the world. It became an opportunity to educate and inspire others to find contentment and peace in stressful times, and to explore our spiritual journey and awakening.
I never thought of myself as a writer, poet or photographer, but I have discovered these aspects of myself along the way.
Blogging is an evolution … if you stay with it.
If you come to blogging with the intention of promoting yourself, or manipulating others, getting the most “likes; and “follows” then you are giving yourself short shrift. There really is so much more here.
Blogging is about connection, being inspired and nourishing each other, building community and finding like-minded souls.
Some times the connections fade or disappear. Other times a new voice and talent emerges and brings new perspectives, inspiration and joy.
Thank you for being here and making it all possible. You are the inspiration.
Find Your Middle Ground 
Interesting topic, Val.
I have been walking around the last days to find out, if I was ready to start writing a little again at a post named Reflection.
We are many like-minded souls in here and I find it wonderful to learn and to be inspired by so many creative and beautiful souls. Mostly are friendly and yes, sometimes people stay here for short, but we find the souls, as for us are attractive by one or another reason.
I started blogging for showing my jewelry. My daughter taught me about blogging and I tried and decided to stay.
I haven’t been writing much the last years, as I have had a blocking against expressing myself.
Thank you for staying in here and inspire us, Val ❤
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Thank you Irene for being here, and being such an important part of this WP community. Please thank your daughter too! 💕
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Thank you Val and I will thank my daughter from you ❤
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Val, I’m just one reader/yogi so often inspired by your words. I imagine there are many others like me who might not often comment but carry the thoughts with me. Thank you, I truly appreciate your blog.
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Thank you Pat for your kind words … and your presence. I appreciate you 💝
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I started blogging just to write something different than the day-in-day-out technical stuff I was writing at work. Over time, I became part of a community and that is why I have continued. Thanks for following and for sharing your wisdom, Val. I often leave here with something to think about.
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Thank you Dan for sharing here. I do enjoy your doors, photos, and of course, Maddie❣️
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And thank you for sharing that inner flower blossoming Val, we are then inspired as we admire and appreciate the beauty that unfolds dear lady ❤️ 🙏🏽
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Thank you for your kind words and kind presence Mark 💕🙏💕
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Hi Val, I started blogging as an experiment to get out of myself, to try something new. When I posted my first post, I was a nervous wreck, but looking back I needn’t have been. The connections we make are fascinating and varied, entertaining and enlightening, and well worth the effort! I’m still experimenting with my writing now, but love it.
Happy New Year to you.
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Smiling … yes Tom, that first post is usually the hardest! Keep experimenting and enjoying the unfolding. Happy New Year to you❣️
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Our pleasure and I do find it is a place to safely tell stories and share creative endeavors. The best part of all though is certainly the human connections.
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Telling our stories and being creative … yes indeed Beth! Thank you for sharing yours 💝
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I started blogging (as opposed to writing health articles & sharing my health story back in 2009 with others affected by severe invisible chronic illness) as a way to share my newly found photography hobby back in mid 2010 after I was forced to take early retirement due to chronic ill-health and pain.
But now it’s more about connecting with people around the world who share my love of nature and the simple life. Paying attention to the small details and how we can slow down and learn to appreciate what we have, not what we had in the past or want for the future.
Every now and then I like to slip in a message about living Mindfully each day and leaving behind the stresses of modern technology.
Gardening – growing herbs and a few leafy green vegetables – reminds us we can all spend a few hours each week making an effort to grow some food to harvest fresh each night, instead of zapping a processed meal in the microwave or oven. One can live a more healthy life on a frugal budget.
But most of all I want to remind readers to take time to ‘stop and smell the roses’ and rest, be still and quieten their minds and observe the birds and insects, the flowers and the trees and the beauty that can be found everywhere if we only open our eyes and learn to see.
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Such a heartwarming story Vicki. Thank you for adding your perspective 💕 We all evolve in nurturing environments … just like the nature you capture so well 😍
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I agree with you about the nature of blogging, Val. It is a wonderful online community that is supportive of my work and where I learn so much from reading what others share. I love it!
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Thank you Eliza. I love the learning and community too! 💕
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I started blogging in 2015, after my dad left this planet.I was near the phase of endogenous depression. My aim of writing is to spread positive vibes in life of other’s.My purpose is to bring positivity, inspiration in life of other’s and how to come of difficult times of life.In order to write a simple post ,i have to do lots of research, analysis and hard work.It activates your imagination, creativity and
Thinking.Some times i work from right brain and sometimes from left brain, sometimes from spinal and many times from cortical level.Best thing about blogging is that i come in contact and connections with many good fellow blogger and friends who work and post many nice post,enlight our knowledge and information without any secondary gains.lets me stops and by for now.
Thanks
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Thank you for sharing Prakaash. Keep spreading those positive vibes and impacting others with thoughtful, researched posts 💝
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I started blogging when I began to write more. I always heard published author needs a platform. That may be true, but now I blog for the wonderful friendships I’ve made over the years. Happy New Year, Val!
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Thank you Jill for sharing. Our blogging does evolve through connection with others 💕
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You have truly been an inspiration to me with your many insights, Val. I came here as a sort of experiment, to see if I had it in me to blog. It has been an adventure for sure, getting to know many wonderful people around the world. There has been sadness and joy on this journey, but hopefully more awareness.
Thank you for all your encouragement and love. xxx
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Thank you Ally. Keep experimenting and coming back to Love. 💕🙏💕
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Thank you, I will. xxx
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I started my sloppy blog in 2011 as a way to document my photography…friends and loved ones encouraged me…I compose my posts for growth…as an image maker I’m learning a lot along the way…thanks Val for asking and sharing your experiences…great thread too ☺️🤓💫
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Some bloggers blog to give . . .
Other bloggers blog to get . . .
It’s pretty easy to tell the difference. 😀
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I’m so glad you are here now, with us, Val. Thank you for all the gifts you have given me over the years.
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It took me a year or more to actually post on Facebook after I had subscribed simply to keep in touch with my children through their medium. When I eventually did so I several friends and relatives encouraged me to write a blog instead. I had to be told what one was and how to go about it. that was 7 years of daily posts ago.
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With you Val. I think this pov captures it for me:
Dr. John has been my therapist for over ten years. What he taught me was how to be accountable to my feelings and instincts in the moment, how to have a witness for them, which is something that I think writing does. It isn’t therapy, but it bears witness to a feeling and a moment and an instinct.”
– Tommy Pico, interviewed by Joseph Osmundson for the New York Review of Books
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I started blogging as a way to work through life and my journey! I was always hoping to inspire someone with my story but never expecting it to be more than a channel for my voice to exist in my own way!
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From finding a channel for our own voice, to connecting and sharing around the world. May your journey continue to unfold 💕
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I thought I knew what I wanted to write, but the writing taught me instead. Teaching the teacher.
What started as a man bursting with answers evolved into a man with only more questions.
On the path nine years now, my blog is equal parts journal and journey.
Seek peace,
Paz
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Teaching the teacher … so true. Thank you Patio 💕
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I love the connection that blogging provides. I kind of stumbled into blogging after writing a family newsletter every month to try and connect my unconnectable family. My daughter suggested that I try blogging and here I am. I’ve always enjoyed writing and have a few unpublished pieces floating around, and it’s interesting to see how my perspective on life has changed over the years since I’ve been blogging. I guess I also love sharing what I have learned, and am still learning on this journey. I find blogging a great way to spread light and love all around. A very interesting topic Val that you have provided on why any of us blog. And I so agree that it really has nothing to do with how many followers or likes we have. It really is so much more.
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That you for connecting Michele and adding to this lovely conversation of like minded bloggers 💕🙏💕
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You’ve pretty much nailed it on the head with this, Val.”Blogging is about connection, being inspired and nourishing each other, building community and finding like-minded souls.” I had no clue when I started what was about to unfold. I was bedridden and unable to do many things and I was “searching” for help to understand what happened and if anyone else could offer clues. That was 8 years ago. I never found what I thought I was looking for but found something so much more. Every time I think about giving it up, someone leaves a comment that keeps me going. I’m sure you have seen your blog evolve as well. Keep the inspiration coming.
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Yes … we found so much more! Thank you Marlene for adding to the conversation. 💕
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You’re so right that blogging is about connection! Making friendships through my blog was a happy surprise. I started writing because that’s what I do – write, all the time – and I thought I could share tips and wisdom broader than just at my work. I do that, but it’s the community, the shared interests, and learning from each other that’s kept me here ❤️
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Thank you Karen ❣️ May we keep learning and finding surprises 💝
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This is a great question, Val. I’ve been reflecting since I read your post the other day. Since I’ve been at this off and on since 2012, I have spent some time examining my intentions. To honor the nudge that I received to consider it, I will be honest. When I first felt the nudge…or the idea “popped into my head”, I was resistant. I wasn’t sure I had much to offer. Following a discussion with my spiritual director, the name for my site came intuitively. Finally, my children and clients encouraged me to share more widely some of what I often shared with them. The idea of creating space for conversation…my writing and the responses and questions of others…was also appealing. I feel strongly that we learn from our experiences AND from each other. How many times have you been in conversation with someone and experienced an “a-ha” moment? Listening is powerful medicine. I read, reflect and “listen” to others in their writing as well as in their comments on my posts.
Thank you for posting this question and providing an opportunity for me to reflect and reexamine my intentions today. Wishing you the very best in the new year ahead, dear Val.
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I started blogging because I was curious about it. I really didn’t have many, if any, expectations. Now I find it very hard to find the time to write and post, but I don’t want to give up the community of friends I’ve made. I think it’s true that to a great extent we end up finding others who share similar values and beliefs. It’s become important to me to keep those connections! I stay with blogging friends who are hopeful and encourage peace and kindness, and sometimes that’s more than I get in the “real” world–my other life. LOL! 🙂
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I appreciate your wisdom and inspiration. Thank you for sharing your voice.
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I started blogging as a challenge to see if I had any creativity in me, since we are always pushing our students to “be creative”. But similar to what you have experienced, it has morphed into a community of people who care about what others have to say. thanks for allowing me to be a part of your community.
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Thanks Jim for sharing your perspective! Keep embracing the questions and the creativity in the answers 💕
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thank you, Val!
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I couldn’t agree more with your take on blogging and what it means to you. I have been writing my entire life but just recently started sharing it. My blog is 15 months old and my words are like my children, so personal. I love the connections I have made here. I write about my trauma, self healing journey and about life as an empath. I love that o have reached people all over the world, the close connections I have on here with like minded fellow writers who share a similar soul’s purpose. Great post!
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Thank you for your kind words … and inspiration Ladysag77 💛
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Love you shared this, Val. I remember when I started…I had no idea what I was doing and the next thing I knew I felt like I had found a new home. I felt I found “my people.” People who share from their soul and give of their hearts. I am so grateful for the connections I have made here. I do not blog as often as I once did, and I really miss it. When I get the time to sit and visit other’s blogs to see what is going on in their world, I am happy…and I wish I could do it more.
Thanks for being the true soul that you show to us in every post. Sweet Blessings ❤
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The sense of connection … understanding … acceptance … and inspiration nourishes us all. Thank you Lorrie 💕
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Thanks for sharing thoughts. It is inspiring.
Learning and Experiencing are part of life. Sharing and inspiring are beautifying life.
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Sharing and inspiring are beautiful. Thank you for this 🎈
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