I’ll tell you why this isn’t a contest. Because I don’t care. Don’t contestants need to care, need to have a vested interest in order to actually compete? It’s not that I don’t care about anything, because I do (oh, I do) – but I don’t care about being better than you or being perfect (whatever that is); I don’t care about numbers of likes and followers. I care about experiencing this experience (this life) for myself. And maybe sometimes my experience crosses with yours, and isn’t that lovely? But the experience: the sensations and sounds, the tastes and sights. I want to take it all in, be one with it.
Have you made a lot of money? Do you have a lot of followers on social media? Good for you.
But have you also sat with the silence on a misty morning? Have you sipped your tea and noticed how it warmed your hands – your mouth – your throat – your chest – your belly? (did you follow its path down and in?) Did you notice how that warmth spread outward in every direction, right to the edges of your fingers and toes? How the warmth rested on the tip of your eyelashes? How that warmth melted right into you? How it was part of you, how you were whole?
Did you notice?
That’s what I care about. Not the dollars, or the likes, or the latest fashion. I’ll take my patched jeans and t-shirt with the hole at the hem. I’ll curl up in the grey chair by the windows with a book and some tea, and pull the warmth into me. It’ll let it melt and slide into the spaces that need warming.
I don’t care for contests. I care for warmth. I care for living.
always the love, m
Michelle GD 
this isn’t a contest . . . for so many reasons. <3
and i love that you brought your thoughts around to savoring warmth and quiet and to noticing.
xoxo, e
for so many reasons, indeed. xoxo
I like blogging because of how intimate it can feel and the friendships it forges. I rarely have to scale back on reading blogs because few people blog anymore. There is depth to a blog post. Instagram takes up too much of my time (way too much) and the feed is horrible, I have to search for the few people I love so I am only there 2 – 3 times a week. my contest for myself is to BE CALM.
I agree with the depth we can find in blog posts versus Instagram…totally with you.
Wishing you many moments of calm, my friend. I know you have beautiful practices to support this. xo
I had decided I needed to go through my ‘list’ of blogs and cut a few that either didn’t post often (like in the last three months) or didn’t interest me. I will tell you, you made the cut (in a good way) and yes I enjoyed (? needed?) your post today.
Oh wow, thank you for telling me! This is such a nice compliment.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post and that, maybe, you found it when you needed it. That’s perfect.
Hello my friend. As always, your words arrive at just the right time…thank you for this. It’s as though a wave of satisfying sighs fills my soul as I read these lines. I just so happen to be sitting at my desk reading this lines while savoring a cup of apple cider herbal tea which makes the moment even more magical. Yay for moments such a these that fill our lives with meaning and joy.
xoxo ~ April
Hello, dear April, and thank you. I love when we find words at just the right time, and I’m glad you found mine today…especially while savoring that apple cider herbal tea (that sounds delicious). Yay indeed for these special, magical moments. xo
Love this post. I can feel the warmth just as you describe it. Your words are always so calming.
Thank you, thank you.
I’m so glad you can feel the warmth, Angela.
Michelle,
I will sit with you, across the miles on my porch, wearing my patched jeans, favorite t-shirt and listenIn to the birds while my cat kneads me. Your words often speak to me at just the right moment. I like to think that universe tells to open your emails just when I need them the most. Today was no different. Thank you for sharing your heart and being YOU. – Lori
I can’t quite tell you what it means to read a comment like yours, Lori. From the deepest folds of my heart, thank you for telling me this. I like to think that the universe works in this way too.
I think it really does. xo
oh this, yes dear m. the warmth. and the living. 💛🧡 xo
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it’s no surprise that you understand this (me). xo
yes, yes, Michelle. Love to you!!!
xo, Julie
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sending love right back, my friend…
Michelle, I always savor each and every post from you. And I want you to know that our conversation continues even though I seldom comment. But this post resonated so strongly with me, I thought I’d reach out to thank you. Your words mean the world and they reassure me that it is okay to be me, even when that means swimming against the tide. Much love, Donna
Oh, Donna. Wishing I could hug you after reading such a kind and thoughtful comment. Thank you.
It’s hard to swim against the tide. We both know that.
But let’s keep at it, eh? xoxo