by Jennifer Rahner
We waste our time
waiting for a path
to appear.
But it never does.
Because we forget
that paths are made
by walking,
not waiting.
And we forget
that there’s absolutely
nothing about our
present circumstances
that prevents us from
making progress again,
one tiny step at a time.
~ Marc & Angel Chernoff
Start Where You Are is my mantra. It’s what helps me start moving forward again when my life seems to be swirling in circles, or stuck indecisively at a crossroads.
I found the quote above recently and the line in bold really stuck with me: “we forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting.”
That’s precisely what Start Where You Are means. It means moving before you really know where you are going. It means picking a direction, perhaps randomly, and perhaps fruitlessly, but you don’t know that until you try.
It means starting a blog again when you have no flaming clue what to say.
Twenty years ago I had a fairly popular blog under a pseudonym, before I was proudly out as a queer, kinky, poly, geeky, sex educator. It chronicled my secret life, my alter ego embarking on sexual and sensual exploration. At the time, it reached the tops of the lists for erotic blogs, before any sort of social media had gained popularity. Writing under a pseudonym is quite freeing. You’re not faced with questions from friends about what you’ve exposed of yourself.
So while I’ve done this before, I haven’t really done this before. It’s nerve-wracking. I’m ready to start moving, though, and committed to being vulnerable with you in this space. Naked, as my blog title promises. I’m glad you’re here to join me as I make this new path.