February 11, 2019

I have been holding my breath for too long

Yesterday, I came across this blog post by Daniel Benneworth-Gray which referenced a 2006-era post by Nora Ephron that I now must share with you all because I took a deep breath while reading it:

One of the most delicious things about the profoundly parasitical world of blogs is that you don’t have to have anything much to say. Or you just have to have a little tiny thing to say. You just might want to say hello. I’m here. And by the way. On the other hand. Nevertheless. Did you see this? Whatever. A blog is sort of like an exhale. What you hope is that whatever you’re saying is true for about as long as you’re saying it. Even if it’s not much.

I have been holding my breath for too long. I don’t write as much, share as much as I used to, and part of that is because I have been waiting to have something to say before sharing. After twenty years of always having something to say, I have recently forgotten the concept of blogging as exhale, the notion of using this space as a place to breathe ideas and thoughts into existence.

I have been holding my breath for so long that I have forgotten how to exhale. The next few months will be an exercise in breathing, for me.