Managing a blog comes with responsibility, and sometimes, I’m not up to the task. As a writer, the words don’t necessarily flow from my fingertips. It’s not like Facebook. This forum comes with its own “push” mechanism that pushes it out to subscribers’ mailboxes. And so, when I post a blog that I end up later kind of hating, it’s a wake-up call to stop trying to write for writing’s sake. That’s called a journal (or diary). Here, I endeavor to give people something to think about, and hopefully the topic is related to one of my passions — women’s rights, mental wellness, and a whole host of history topics.

But sometimes, I mess it up. As with the blog that was “pushed” out in April 2022. It was too soon after my Writer’s Burnout episode to even think about blogging. Then why did I do it? Because I am driven to create. Inform. Share.

So, here I am, on 25 July 2022, deleting the old text and replacing it with this thought. We all need peace. If the past two and a half years have taught us anything, it’s that we must, now and then, shut out those who detract from our peace. Turn off the screens. Take a walk. Do some yoga. Breathe deep. The bad news will wait. Really, it will. In this moment, let there be peace.

Melanie Holmes