Letting the days go by

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by Lisa
Kalaloch Beach, WA

And you may ask yourself, well

How did I get here?

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

Hello, I’ve missed you all! Last spring I didn’t think taking a short break would lead to anything more than a chance to catch my breath but here we are, catching up after more than a year and quite a few changes. I’ve had a lot of time to think about if I wanted to return to blogging, wondering if I had anything unique to say in these strange times and I changed my mind multiple times yes/no/yes/no/maybe but one constant was the fact that I couldn’t stop hearing The Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime. I took it as a sign.

You may ask yourself

What is that beautiful house?

You may ask yourself

Where does that highway go to?

And you may ask yourself

Am I right? Am I wrong?

And you may say yourself

“My God! What have I done?”

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

Seven years ago I was an excited newbie, unsure if anyone would be interested in my Pacific Northwest photos but I had experiences I wanted to share and a desire to try something new. I learned a lot, met some truly wonderful people and slowly but surely grew my audience. At my peak I was posting seven days per week with an engaged audience and felt like I’d really found my stride.

Life goes on though, I ran short on time to take new photographs, home improvement projects were put on hold and I came to rely on the WordPress weekly photo challenge for interesting blog prompts. The task of meeting a random word or phrase with something relevant to my niche of family, travel and PNW scenery was fun for me and when it ended I’ll admit I felt a little lost. I know a blogger should be able to plan their own material but again, I liked the challenge aspect and when this ended my enthusiasm for the platform waned. I’ve continued to share photos and comments on Instagram and Twitter but the longer form of illustrated posts and storytelling wasn’t where my heart was.

Same as it ever was

Same as it ever was

Same as it ever was

Look where my hand was

Time isn’t holding up

Time isn’t after us

Same as it ever was

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

Before my break I tried to return to the photo-a-day format that had worked so well in the past but life got in the way. I made a huge career change, leaving the industry I’d been a part of for 25 years, family members faced renewed health challenges, chapters ended and new doors opened. Each piece brought new demands and left me with little free time for independent thought or, if I’m being honest, even time to step outside and take a photo. The things that had held me creatively engaged for so many years seemed out of reach. For most of this time I simply hung on and kept moving forward, taking care of what was right in front of me while trying to keep my head above water.

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

Some things have settled, some I’ve grown accustomed to and some I’m resigned to wait out but finally, I’m feeling the need to rejoin aspects of my past that fed my creative side so here I am brainstorming how to share interesting content while keeping the process fun. I’m looking forward to writing again, using words for more than business correspondence and quick conversation but the (self-induced) pressure of returning to my old style and posting calendar has held me back from fully committing to a return. It all felt too hard and not authentic as our life has changed and my creative outlook adapted.

Letting the days go by

Same as it ever was

And here the twister comes

Here comes the twister

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

Just because I haven’t posted here doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about blogging though, my old habit of keeping lists and journal notes for inspiration has continued, now I’m looking to them for direction and clarity of purpose. I have pages filled with one word blog prompts, thoughts about why I started Northwest Frame of Mind and notes-to-self about finding my own voice and being emotionally honest with words. I suspect many of these will appear here as I work through what makes me happy and how I can share something of value in a very crowded space. My posts may be infrequent but they will be authentic and I’ll continue to frame each entry with a PNW focus as it’s our home and a thing I love. My hope is as I continue to explore a few of you will trust me enough to follow along.

Kalaloch Beach, WA

Published by

Lisa

22 thoughts on “Letting the days go by”

    1. Thank you for the nice welcome and comment today! After my time away I was surprised to see the editor changes and had to take some time to re-learn how to post, my reward was picking a new theme so it’s great to hear you like it. 🙂

      Like

  2. Love the post, but wish you’d left me reflecting on the lyrics and not showed me the video, Lisa ! Gosh, groups go (in this case ‘went’) to astonishing lengths to be different, eh ? I’d heard of Talking Heads years back but never seen or listened to them: now I know why, she said anciently ..
    Anyway ! Almost all of us go through the blogging block – I know I did, and went away for 6-7 years. Everything changes, and so do we.
    But the prospect of more of your stunning photos fills me with happiness; so hang in here for another while at least, yes ?
    And I feel I can say “welcome back” because my return to the fold pre-dates yours ! [grin]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lovely to hear from you M-R! The video is very much a product of its time, 1980, but I didn’t feel right about quoting from the song without sharing the full piece… I hope you found something to appreciate in the lyrics and can forget I had you watch the visual part. 🙂
      I’m really looking forward to posting again so you should get a stretch of new photos and small stories for the foreseeable future Thanks for the “welcome back!”

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Jim. 🙂 My blog has been more silent than sporadic but I tried to keep sharing interesting items through Twitter enjoy seeing you there. Now I hope to do better here and look forward to sharing more than a word or two on social media. 🙂

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  7. Dear Lisa, I loved reading this. Your thoughts are so honest and true, and I appreciate your finding a way to articulate and share them with others. That takes courage and real insight to yourself and to others. Synchronisity here. Yesterday I was hiking with my friend Alice. I was wandering along with that song going through my head while Alice would run ahead and then wait impatiently for me to catch up, so it is a joy to read how you used it in this blog. Keep on, dear one. Maryellen

    On Mon, May 25, 2020 at 1:51 PM Northwest Frame of Mind wrote:

    > Lisa posted: ” Kalaloch Beach, WA And you may ask yourself, wellHow did I > get here?Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime Hello, I’ve missed you all! > Last spring I didn’t think taking a short break would lead to anything more > than a chance to catch my breath but her” >

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Maryellen, synchronicity indeed, you were hiking with this song while I was writing with it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, it’s great to know you enjoyed reading.

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  8. So glad to “see” you again, Lisa! I, too, have lost my “blog mo” and haven’t written for months, with a year’s gap before that. I would LIKE to get back to it because writing feels good, but I just can’t seem to make it happen. But, you never know. Interestingly, several of the blogs I’ve followed since I started mine have gone dark, too. I guess everyone hits the wall at times. Anyway, glad you’re back, whatever your frequency. I’ve missed your photos!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, D’Arcy! It sounds like plenty of us hit that wall, my fingers are crossed that more of us feel it’ll be ok to come back in what ever way works. Smaller is better for me now, less pressure that way. 😉

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  9. Wow, what a wonderful surprise, Lisa. Great to have you back and the photos are beautiful. I miss the photo challenge, too, but there are a lot of other challenges out there, including the Lens Artists Photo Challenge, something to take the place of the WP challenge but on a much smaller scale. Here’s the link to this weeks: https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/lens-artists-photo-challenge98-delicate-colours/.

    Anyway, welcome back and I love the photos.

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Janet, so nice to hear from you today! Thanks for the tip re the Lens Artists Photo Challenge, I’ll be sure to take a look. 🙂

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  10. It is lovely to see you again, Lisa. Welcome back. Sorry to hear about the hard times over the past year. It sounds like you been through a lot and good to hear at times you’ve been keeping lists and journal notes. Hope you find them very inspiring and you get out to do some photography again. So nice you’re keeping it real. Take care 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Mabel, thanks so much for the kind words. I’m really looking forward to jumping back in and catching up with everyone, I hope you’ve been well this past year. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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