Greetings, friends!
You may have noticed that I haven't posted in a bit, and I'm so sorry for that. I certainly haven't abandoned the blog or my mission, and if you're reading this, I'm so thankful that you've stuck around! I wanted to chat a little about my absence, what I've been up to, and some insight I've gathered over the past few weeks.
“Sometimes doing nothing makes way for everything.”
― Hiral Nagda
Admittedly, the title is a bit misleading: I'm still reading, but my page count has definitely gone down a bit. There's a couple reasons for this.
One, I simply haven't had time. I work a full-time job, and it can be exhausting. There are days where I simply want to come home, eat dinner, and go to bed—and that's okay. Forcing myself to read when I'm too braindead to retain any of the information isn't beneficial to me or anyone else.
I also take every opportunity I can get to spend time with family and friends, and with the weather getting warmer, there's significantly more out there for us to do. Don't get me wrong, I love following characters on their adventures through the pages of a great book, but a real-life adventure is so much better. I wouldn't trade those moments for the world, and you shouldn't either.
Books will always be there, ready to pick up where you left off, but those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to make memories won't be. Enjoy those any moment you can!
“Our lives are not the days that have passed, but the days we will remember forever.”
― Meik Wiking, The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments
Now, like I mentioned above, this doesn't mean I haven't been reading at all. I'll still enjoy an afternoon on my patio, or maybe in my favorite coffee shop, curled up with a book. I still try to squeeze in a chapter or two before bed, or wherever else I can manage.
What I haven't been doing, obviously, is writing about them—and frankly, it's because I haven't felt like it.
I've talked before about how this blog is my Unicorn Space, my little corner of the internet to share the positive power of reading with the world. My goal is, and has always been to help people develop a love of reading and get excited about books—but how can I do that if I'm not even excited?
In this modern age of social media, content creators are told they have to be cranking out new content 24/7 in order to be seen or remain relevant. Ultimately, this leads to creating content that you don't even like and aren't passionate about, just to have something to post—and I refuse to do that.
This blog is a passion project, and if my heart and soul isn't behind the content I'm sharing, then it simply doesn't need to be shared. If that means I go a few weeks without any new posts, then so be it.
Maybe that means traffic on the blog slows down, and maybe it'll prevent me from ever gaining a larger following, but that's okay. I trust that each post's message will find its way to someone that needs to hear it, including this one.
"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot."
— D.H. Lawrence
Circling back to the title question, what exactly does one do when you don't feel like reading? The answer is simple: don't.
The same applies for writing, or drawing, or whatever your passions may be. Forcing yourself to do them when you're not feeling inspired is just going to create further aversion, especially when it's for the sake of social media.
During these times, it's okay to rest, reevaluate, and remember what, or who made you fall in love with creating in the first place. It's okay to take a day off and go do something fun with your friends. I promise, that book, that half-finished drawing, or that paragraph that you just can't seem to get right will be there waiting for you.
No matter what it is you're working on, work with all your heart—but only when your heart is ready.
“Research shows that we need to take a break and decompress so we can be at our best at work—and at home. Maybe we should ask if the life we’re working so hard to create is fun to live?”
― Tina Hallis, Sharpen Your Positive Edge: Shifting Your Thoughts for More Positivity and Success
Even when I'm not active on the blog, I have a Discord server where I'm active regularly, and have a small community of fellow readers. We chat about the books we're reading and even have virtual hangouts to read together, play games, and so much more. We'd love to have you join us! This is also a great way to chat more about the subjects of each blog post—I always love to hear everyone's thoughts, takeaways, questions, etc.
I don't know when exactly I'll be sharing my next post, but when inspiration hits, you better be ready! If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe so you'll be notified when that happens.
Thank you so much for taking time to check out the blog, and I hope this post inspires someone out there to take the break they need.
'•.¸♡ Until next time! ♡¸.•'
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