Hello wonderful people who wait patiently for my blogpost, it’s been 76 days since I wrote my last blogpost. In the last 76 days, I did many things-

1. Attended a blogging conference for the first time, #BNLF by Indiblogger
2. Celebrated my husband’s birthday, dad’s birthday, Navratri and Diwali.
3. Joined #NaNoWriMo and managed to write 7,000 words of my memoir.
4. Did many art and craft projects with my daughter.
5. Attended Storytelling Workshop at Kathalaya in Bangalore.
6. Met my blogger friends in Bangalore.
7. Attended Preeti Shenoy’s book launch of ‘Why we Love the way we do”
8. Read nine books.
9. Spent two days with my friend’s pet dog Simba, a Labrador.
10. Conducted my first ever online discussion- Parenting through Stories.

So here I had 10 wonderful topics to blog about and maybe hidden within were many sub-topics that I could have blogged about, but I didn’t blog. I wrote a journal entry occasionally, yet I didn’t blog, why?

‘Writer’s block’, NO! See I had 10 fantastic topics to blog about

Time, I had all the time in the world, so no question of giving a lame excuse, “I didn’t have time”

Then what stopped me from blogging. When I look back I realise that I chose not to blog. Sounds crazy, right? But that’s the truth. Every time the urge to write visited me, I chose to ignore it by switching over to Facebook, Twitter, reading other blogs and watching YouTube videos. Every time an idea propped up, instead of noting it down in a word document or in my journal, I chose to visit my Facebook page or profile and answered the most hyped question, “What’s on your mind?” Every time I wanted to share something insightful, I chose to read more about it on the net or watch a TED Talk on a similar topic. In short I chose not to blog.

Now why did I do that? Simple- Facebook and Twitter are like instant noodles, they are easily accessible via my smartphone. One photo uploaded attracts minimum 50 likes and 10 comments. A status update attracts immediate likes and comments. As a writer, Facebook and Twitter give me instant gratification. I look forward to the comments and reply to them almost instantly. This kept me hooked the whole afternoon and ate away a huge chunk of 5 hours, which otherwise I spent on blogging and connecting to fellow bloggers.

The instant likes and comments gave an adrenaline rush and I felt good, momentarily though. Few hours later, the feelings of emptiness encompassed me again….as if I missed something very close to me. Yesterday night I couldn’t sleep and as I was mindlessly surfing the internet and reading the posts shared on my timeline, my daughter asked me, “Mumma what is your latest blogpost about?” That’s when I realized it’s been 76 days since I published a post. That moment I realized how much I missed blogging.

Blogging is like a full-course meal. When an idea germinates, a blogger has to immediately note it down, write the first draft, edit, search for images or videos or graphics and finally publish the article. This thinking-researching-writing-publishing process takes time and effort. I was drawn by the spontaneity of Facebook and Twitter, however my blog keeps me stable. It allows to express myself fully and the meaningful conversations with my readers, helps me grow as a writer and as an individual.

My blog is where I belong and this is my sacred space, a sanctuary that I’ve built for myself and I commit to nurture this consistently. The next two days I will write about the #BNLF blogging conference I attended and my #NaNoWriMo experience.

I’m back and I commit to stay loyal to my blog!

Did you miss me? What did you do in the last 76 days? What do you prefer, Facebook or Blog? I am curious to read your thoughts on this.

See you tomorrow with a new blogpost, until then, Keep Smiling!

Love and Gratitude,

Gayu