Sunset photo taken the other day by my husband Brad Klopman.
I began my blog almost nine years ago, April 17, 2009. (Tech is like dog years, feels like 63 years ago.) I remember it well. I sat outside on my front stoop in LA, sun in my eyes and Kansas (my then dog) rolling in the grass beside me. It was early in the blogging world. I remember trying to figure out "how to create a blog." It was exciting and challenging. I had no idea what I was doing and I certainly didn't know what I was going to blog about. All I knew was that I had an urge--a desire to share information and to connect with other like-minded folks (social media was just becoming a thing). It felt soul-baring.
I wrote this in my introduction to the blog:
In his autobiography "My Experiments with Truth", Gandhi says, "Writing (this autobiography) is one of the experiments with truth. One of its objects is certainly to provide some comfort and food for reflection."
My blog was definitely an experiment. I was constantly thinking about it, juggling sometimes how far to push it, yet wanting to serve the causes I was passionate about, as well as my own truth, and my dear readers. I hoped, as Gandhi said, to provide some comfort and food for reflection--not just for my readers but, honestly, for myself. Blogging made me feel less lonely. And that was important for me in those years.
To those of you who have followed my blog, thank you. Above all, I hope my posts have in a small way been a source of something good in your life. Maybe you even found a new favorite vegan thing!
Though I will continue my experiments with truth in other formats, it is the end of an era for me. I have deleted 95% of my posts--hundreds of them--except for a few that still mean something to me or still garner attention. I wrote a post called, "How I Healed a Pinch Nerve in My Neck" that gets a hit every couple of minutes from all over the world. It has 80 comments and I've received countless personal messages about how this post has helped someone out there. It's beyond gratifying to know that post has been and continues to be of service to others.
The next day, April 18th, 2009, I sat outside on my stoop again--laptop in hand, sun in my eyes (it's LA, after all) Kansas rolling in the grass, and wrote my first real blog post. Here it is:
Today I am determined to see things differently. Truth be told, I wake up every morning and say that. I figure it's like the daily spoonful of glucosamine I give my dog Kansas for his bad hips. I don't really notice he walks any easier, but I trust that over time it's having some effect.
In memory of Kansas.