Making Lemonade has been online for three months now, so I think this is a great opportunity to look back on what’s happened so far, but also to look ahead to what’s to come.
The First Months
I started this blog because I felt called to share with the world the tools I learned in therapy and the Twelve Step program. These tools helped me climb out of a deep valley and get to where I am now: in balance, with peace in my soul and joy in my heart. Today, I can accept life as it is. I no longer run away from it and deal with it in a healthy way. Years ago, I wasn’t capable of that, and I’d like to share here the tools I’ve been given over the years. That was, is, and will remain the purpose of this blog.
Looking back now on these first three months, I realize I began very positively, by writing about concrete tools that truly work for me. I did this in The Thrift Shop, Nurturing Our Inner Garden, Mother Nature’s Nourishment, and Against the Tide. But also in Living in Abundance, Be at Peace with Yourself Part 1 and Part 2, and Living a Fulfilling Life.
And as useful and necessary as all those tools are for me—and I hope for others as well—I sensed that more was needed. That it was necessary to provide some background, to show that I know what I’m talking about. Because I don’t know how it is for others, but I only accept advice from people who’ve been through the same wringer as I have. I’ve had enough people in my life who all gave me well-meaning advice, but who didn’t have the faintest idea what I was going through. Well, that doesn’t work for me. And because I want to avoid the same thing here, I felt it was necessary to outline where I’m coming from. I did that in Falling Down, and Getting Back Up, Grieving Requires Connection, The Chains of Addiction, About Sensory Breaks and Recharging Stations, and Tears, Tea Lights, and a Cremation Ring: In Other Words: Grief. That way you know: I know what I’m talking about. I really do.
My initial goal—and it still is, really—was to keep the blog from becoming too Christian. I have absolutely no ambition to get readers to read the Bible or go to church. That’s the job of religious institutions, and they’re welcome to keep it. However, I did feel it was important to share what God has done for me—and continues to do.
I hope that above all I have been able to convey God’s love, which I consider universal and non-religious. Doing so through a Christian lens is almost unavoidable, and I didn’t really want to avoid that either. Writing about my spiritual life is what I’ve tried to do in Do Christians and Muslims Pray to the Same God?, A Bottle of God, and A Pink Cloud Can’t Last Forever...
There were other articles as well, in which I mainly reflected on the challenges I still face myself. I’d like to keep doing that. On the one hand because I enjoy reflecting and growing, and on the other because I want to show my humanity: I struggle too, just like all of us. Being sober and in recovery doesn’t mean my life is one big fairy-tale forest where I frolic happily. It is what it is, and it remains a real challenge at times. My “reflection articles” were And Now: Freedom!, Love Is the Only Answer to Hate, and Listening to Love. Being open and honest about life’s challenges—always with a solution-oriented mindset—is definitely something I want to keep doing!
What now?
While I personally feel there’s a need for positive and lighthearted articles right now, I want to keep following God’s guidance above all. I can’t and won’t make any promises, but God willing, those kinds of articles will appear more often!
I’m also thinking about upgrading my subscription so the website will have a search function (is there a need for that? Feel free to let me know in the comments!), and I’ll have reliable statistics. I realize it would be helpful to know where in the world readers are located.
Translating each article takes a lot of time and energy, and if it turns out to be impractical to keep doing that, then that’s something I’ll want to evaluate. (Please (!) let me know in the comments if you find the translations helpful—then I’ll definitely keep doing it!)
Thank you to every reader!
I don’t have any statistics I can consult (maybe after a potential upgrade!), but I do receive a monthly update from JouwWeb. I find those updates truly encouraging, and I want to thank everyone who reads this blog and shares it with others.
Here’s what the first month looked like (fyi 'bezoekers' means visitors):
And for the second month, February, like this:
Since I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what 302 visitors actually looks like, I converted it into “teacher terms” (I used to be a teacher, after all, right?). 302 people is 15 classes of 20 students (even though these aren’t students but readers, but still, you get my point). Fifteen classes—that’s either a relatively large elementary school, or a decent-sized combined preschool and elementary school! Well, I think those are a lot of people. Put them all together on a square, and you’ve got quite a crowd. If all those people have read my blog, and seem to have gotten something out of it (otherwise there wouldn’t be 1,766 page views, I suppose), then I’m truly a very happy person. And then I feel that Victor Frankl was right when he wrote about the importance of having a purpose in life, of contributing something and making a difference. I feel how good this is for me, and I want to thank every reader for that. Thank you for reading this, for contributing to my recovery and my life. Thank you also for sharing this blog with others. Sharing is so important! Not for my stats, but because my hope is that those who need it will read this. This blog is for those who are still in a deep pit and need to find a way out, for those who, like me, are actively working every day to avoid falling back in, or simply for anyone interested in the topic.
Call(s) to Action!
Do you know people, social media platforms, or WhatsApp groups with whom you wanted to share the blog but haven’t done so yet? May I ask if you’d be willing to do that after all? That would be really great.
What topics do you find interesting and would you like to read more about? I can’t promise I have something meaningful to say about them, but who knows? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!
And finally, once again, a heartfelt thank you!
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