[2021-12-18] 500th post

Today is my 500th post.

I haven't missed a day since my first post on August 6, 2020.

I feel proud that I've managed to write a new article every day for the past 500 days. I also feel grateful for the encouragement you have provided, which spurred me to continue publishing my daily reflections even after I hit the one-year anniversary of the blog. Your role in supporting me, cheering me and walking with me cannot be underestimated.

Brenda Ueland, author of If You Want to Write, explains the importance of friends in the writing process:

The only good teachers for you are those friends who love you, who think you are interesting, or very important, or wonderfully funny; whose attitude is: "Tell me more. Tell me all you can. I want to understand more about everything you feel and know and all the changes inside and out of you. Let more come out."

In your own unique ways, you have encouraged me to tell you more, to share what I am experiencing, and to let more of myself come out.

I am certain that if I had set out to keep a journal for my eyes only, I would not have succeeded in writing every day. I would have succumbed to fatigue or illness. I would have given up on the days I struggled to find a worthy topic. I would have left half-written pieces unfinished.

I know that you would have forgiven me had I missed a day here or there, but my desire to preserve the streak is stronger than any lethargy I might feel, my loyalty to my followers is more powerful than any inner critic who might suggest that a given post wasn't good enough, and my return on blogging is greater than the effort required to write my posts.

Ueland expresses that benefit so well and succinctly:

With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding.

In writing Jenesis, I have learned that:
  • I am appreciated.
  • I have something worthwhile to say.
  • I inspire others.
  • Stories are often both personal and universal.
  • Life can be magical in the midst of its messiness.
  • We all face challenges.
  • Vulnerability fosters openness.
  • Healing isn't a linear process.
  • It's not what happens to us that determines our experience as much as how we choose to respond.
  • Cancer impacts loved ones (almost) as much as the patient.
  • Your legacy is not some grand gesture but every person you meet.
  • Life is like snakes and ladders (sometimes you're up and sometimes you're down).
  • What we focus on is exactly what we'll see more of.
  • Your smile may be, to someone, like the sun breaking through the clouds.
  • As Dale Carnegie said, "a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language."
  • We have more influence on others than we realize.
  • Joy exists in the little things: don't wait for big things to be happy.
  • You are the head of your medical team.
  • It's OK to not be OK.
  • We all need help sometimes.
  • Do not put off enjoying today because you're waiting to get through a difficult period—a proverbial winter.
  • People need and want good news.
  • What we learned in the past and what we're struggling with today might be the basis for something wonderful in the future.
  • Bad things happen, and yet the sun still comes up the next day.
Thank you for following my story. Cheers to tomorrow.