Weekly Round Up

Time for this week’s round-up of the best of the blog posts which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Don’t forget if you have written a post which you would like readers to see, just leave a comment below.

The outpouring of grief and heartfelt tributes at the passing of Nelson Mandela has found expression in the blogosphere. Yvonne has written a post on the mandiba magic, while Audrey has focused on a wonderful quote from the iconic leader “It seems impossible, till its done” to guide and inspire us.

Reading your blogs this week I have been struck by the reasons why we blog,  how our blogs change over time, and what happens when we hit “bloggers block”. Many of your blogs I have been an avid reader of for years, and I have watched as you progressed through cancer’s various stages and your blogs have grown and evolved to reflect the point you are at now.  In this regard, I found Scorchy’s blog fascinating in its themes this week. She hasn’t blogged for a while – (a common stage many of us go through) and her latest post captures the sense of ambiguity she finds herself in – no longer in crisis, returning to a normality of sorts, and yet….well, it  is so full of things to ponder I find myself still reflecting on it. And if you are experiencing writer’s block in your blog, then do read Dr Ann Becker Schutte’s lessons learned when she challenged herself to blog every day for a month.

Phillipa has followed up on her moving post Skin Deep and for me her response highlights a highly therapeutic aspect of blogging. Blogging is not just about writing as one would in a diary. It is so much more. We touch the lives of others with our words, and in turn, our own lives are touched. Phillipa writes: “I have  found that not only writing and releasing these highly personal and innermost thoughts and feelings but then listening to the responses and reactions of others is helping me to process this.”

Elsewhere in the blogosphere…

Nancy has advice on how to deal with grief as the holiday season fast approaches.

Chris is writing about the ways in which having cancer makes him feel guilty.

Debbie has written about how a sudden death made her realize again the necessity to live in the moment:

Someday, for each of us, there will be no tomorrow. At that moment, we will have proved, completely and without any doubt, that all we have is the present moment. The trick is getting to that realization well before we take our final breath.

I can’t think of a better way to end this week’s round-up than with Debbie’s reminder.

Until next week, try to live more in the present moment.

Yours with love

Marie xxx