Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

July 24, 2007

Sunday, July 24, 2005: Learning to Breathe

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 7:53 am

Breathing Room

They say it takes 5 minutes to start a blog. Whoa! It sure didn’t for me. I had to walk in a crooked line through the virtual halls of Amazon for two hours at least. I had to look at blog templates for another three. And choosing a name, well, I wasn’t prepared for the fact that choosing a name for my son would be easier.

I started in the morning and published in the starlight.

I came to it as a writer. So I thought it was writing. I thought it was about structure and expression, content and presentation, and offering somewhere someone might find a place next to me on the riverbank under the old white oak tree. I was one third in the right direction.

Who’d know I’d be here a short two years later?

Who’d know what I’d discover?

Who’d know I’d hand over my head and heart?

I point to my first blog post — about 100 words. . It’s got stars, life, peanut butter . . . and a quote I still believe.

When I give my soul a little breathing room . . .
everyone I know gets nicer.

I came here to wonder and to find more ways just to be.

. . . and the people who greeted me taught me to breathe.

–ME “Liz” Strauss





Filed under Liz Also Writes, Successful Blog, Writing |




C'mon. Let's talk!

17 Comments to “Sunday, July 24, 2005: Learning to Breathe”

  1. July 24th, 2007 at 9:27 am
    Karin H. said

    Hi Liz

    5 minutes! Oh sure - could be done I guess. But then what?

    You can start-up a business in the same time - fill in a form online and your registered at the official business point in your country (every country has its own point, so no use mentioning names here ;-)) But again, then what?

    You can even get married in 5 minutes I’ve been told. And then what?

    Empty shells, that’s what.

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

  2. July 24th, 2007 at 9:37 am
    MotherPie said

    Five minutes, no way. Even finding space for the soul to breathe takes more than five minutes.

  3. July 24th, 2007 at 9:51 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin!
    Yeah, I’m not going to mention all of the things [grin] people can do in 5 minutes either. Some folks do tham in that much time too.

    Some folks aren’t you and me. :)

  4. July 24th, 2007 at 11:16 am
    Whitney said

    I do like that quote.

    It took me a while to understand what folks meant when they wrote that when someone is grumpy, impatient, and short-tempered with others, it more often than not has more to do with THEM than with whoever it is they think is bugging them. (This isn’t ALWAYS the case, but it is more often than we’d like to admit.)

    If you’re always moving, if you never stop, you stop paying attention to what all you’re carrying around and you never reflect on whether you still need to be. The longer you carry it around, the bigger the burden it becomes, the grumpier you get.

  5. July 24th, 2007 at 11:20 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Whitney!
    Great point you make that our moods are our own. I usually cause what’s bugging me. You’re so right about that. When I step back to reflect, my world view gets larger and I see how insignificant what I’m worrying about usually is. That’s tied closely to a habit of making myself center of the universe. :)

  6. July 24th, 2007 at 11:23 am
    zakman said

    Hi Liz

    I think I just became a part of history!

    You’ll know what I mean, if you go back in time to your post of July 24, 2005 ;)

    Thanks for being there Liz!

    PS: Five minutes is a lot of time. I heard the reason Sony Corporation chairman wears pull-on shoes is that he can save 20 seconds every morning by not having shoe laces to tie up.

  7. July 24th, 2007 at 11:28 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Zakman,
    You have just become part of my history, present. and future. You are remarkable. :)

    Regarding the Sony guy, I don’t want to live in a world where 20 seconds will make or break me. :)

  8. July 24th, 2007 at 11:29 am
    William Tully said

    “Who’d know I’d be here a short two years later?” - Liz, where is ‘here’ to you?

  9. July 24th, 2007 at 11:30 am
    ME Strauss said

    Why, Tully, it’s living inside your computer. :)

  10. July 24th, 2007 at 11:32 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi MotherPie in Comment #2,
    Welcome to the conversation. Sorry you had to wait.

    Your comment makes me smile from the inside out. Your soul has been there. It’s obvious. :)

  11. July 24th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
    LaurenMarie said

    Liz, you sound thrilled to be where you are. That enthusiasm is contagious! I hope that I can say in two years what you’ve said above. It was beautiful!

  12. July 24th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey LaurenMarie.
    How can I not be grateful when I get to talk to such cool and incredible people every day. It’s beyond belief!! :)

  13. July 24th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
    Kirk M said

    Hi Liz,

    Isn’t it great to be alive and breathing? I’m glad I had the opportunity to become part of that as well, in my own effort and here too. Kinda’ rounded out everything real nice like. :D

    Hi MotherPie!

    I’m glad MotherPie made her way here. She stopped by my post I wrote about our conversation the other weekend and I hoped she’d drop in.

  14. July 24th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Kirk!
    It is great to be alive and breathing! I’m getting used to it. Maybe one day I’ll actually fit in this skin, just right. :)

    MotherPie is a nice one. Yep.

  15. July 24th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
    Kirk M said

    Ah, fitting into the skin. Nicely put. Trouble is the skin keeps changing. Sometimes I wonder who I’m looking at in the mirror some mornings. :)

  16. July 25th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
    Easton Ellsworth said

    2 Years? Wow, Liz. Awesome!

  17. July 25th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Easton!
    That’s my writing blog. Yeah it’s cool. :)

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

C'mon Let's Talk!