Why blog?

I am so excited about my new website. I could not be happier with the design and, as important, with the increased clarity about what exactly is going on here and how you might take advantage of it.

I was a little surprised by how emotional the redesign process was. Every decision had repercussions for me, for you, for the future. It was more akin to building a new spec home for your family than it was like simply moving from one house to another. It was ambitious and full of hope. It asked me to imagine our future with more clarity and boldness than I might normally bring and, when I opened my imagination, I fell into a well of great longing. Longing for a meaningful relationship with you. Longing to offer you what you seek from your meditation practice and then gently push you even further. Longing to express myself. Longing to honor my teachers. Longing for greater financial security, longing for success, longing to reach the place of no-longing. Yes, all of that! And while taking such things into account, there was still a need to make level-headed decisions about direction and budget and plug-ins and structure, all to create something that can meet us where we are and where we are going. It was a terribly consuming process and while holding the vision was one thing, actualizing it was another and Michele (my assistant and our community manager), Renessa (the beautiful and talented designer), and Mark (the brilliant developer) made it happen. Of course we are now finding (and will continue to find) little bugs, pathways that don’t work, improvements to make, and so on. But on the whole, one week in, what has come to light is relatively minor and totally workable. We have succeeded in creating a new foundation. I am so happy about it.

When it came time to take my old site down, I was taken aback by how sad I was. I loved that site so much. It was beautiful and special and although it no longer suited our work together, I still felt happy to visit it. Taking the old site down was like watching someone take down the house you grew up in… Farewell, beautiful old site!

During a redesign, of course, you rethink everything. When it came to the blog, I wondered, should I even keep it? Is it necessary? I send out emails to you guys with videos and the occasional longer written piece and does anyone really want to hear more from me than that? If so, what will I write in the blog that I don’t already address in the Open Heart Project newsletters? Does the world really need another self-helpy writer suggesting Six Ways to Do This and Seven Ways to Never Do That?

Well, even if it does, I knew I was not going to be that writer. And I didn’t want to write blog posts that were marketing ploys in disguise, ways to draw your attention to my new book, program, or whoosiewatchie. It is self-help sacrilege to say so, but I trust you to find what you want and then either buy it or not.

Here is what I decided to do instead: return to the roots of blogging and use this space to share more personally. I’d like to write about my own life, what it feels like to build the Open Heart Project, writing challenges and delights, what it is like to be a human who has relationships, how I feel about my work, you, the planet, and so on. Maybe even some stuff about music. Frequency of posts is uncertain—once a month? Twice? We shall see!

I’m not sure how it’s going to work out—for you. I know that, for me, it’s going to be interesting, daunting, intimidating, and fun. You’ll have to let me know how it goes for you. I know that you will.

Love, Susan

categorized in: creativity