I'm Back!

Image source: flickr.com

Hello everyone.

I'm sorry if I was missed during my random hiatus, and I'm even more sorry if you never got the memo as to why I disappeared. (I tried to get the word out!) But I'm back now and want to explain and inform you of a few things.  

1. If you're wondering why I randomly deleted the blog, it's because this article brought my attention to the fact that I wasn't being very wise about my photo use. I honestly thought it was okay to use whatever photos I fancied as long as I cited the original source and didn't make any money off the photos. Nope. Apparently, you still put yourself at risk for getting sued.

So I went back and forth in my head about what to do before deciding that it would be best to delete my blog until I made an informed decision about future photo use. I now use this nifty little resource to find my photos.

2. I'm not going to lie to you...I hated deleting this blog. I hate that I spent nearly four hours relaunching it and finding all new photos yesterday. I hate how much harder it is to find photos I can actually use. I hate that I can't take random drool-worthy photos off Google and Pinterest and compile them into photo heavy, visually appealing blog posts anymore. And I'm probably going to piss and moan and be a little bit of a grumpy whiner about it for a little while. But I wanted to do the right thing. When you know you're doing something wrong, you should stop doing it.

3. If you'll notice, some of my old posts are missing. And every single one of my home and organization posts are missing because (almost) every single one of them contained lots of photos that I either couldn't replace or didn't feel like replacing. In my opinion, home and organization posts just aren't very entertaining or informative without pictures. It would be very difficult and kind of boring to write a post about how to make the inside of your closet look rad if you don't show pictures of rad closets. Or to write a post about your obsession with cottage-style and not show pictures of cottage-style home designs.

So although I still want to write about home and organization, I probably won't write about it as often as I used to...Because safe-to-use photos are limited in that area. In fact, I can no longer publish photo heavy posts at all unless I find the pictures I'm looking for or get express permission to use them. I'm sorry if my photo heavy posts were your favorite. I liked them too...

4. I will no longer blog twice a week, every week. The fact that there are now gaps in my "every Wednesday and Friday" blogging schedule makes my OCD mind want to blog as sporadically as my previous posts appear. I will still post on Wednesdays and Fridays...It just won't be EVERY Wednesday and Friday. I don't have time to spend two hours looking for relevant photos twice a week. But I will still blog as often as I can and as often as inspiration hits.

5. I hope you'll keep reading this little blog of mine. Because I really want to keep writing it despite these changes.

<3 Madison              

A Chat About Self-Love with Lori Deschene

I am a huge fan of Lori and Tiny Buddha, as most of you may know. So I was beyond excited when I got an email asking if it would be okay if she featured one of my Tiny Buddha posts in her upcoming book, Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself. It was a no-brainer.  

The excitement continued when she asked if I would be interested in posting a Q&A with her on this little blog of mine. It was another no-brainer. I've always wanted to interview Lori, but never had a relevant theme or topic in mind. Now I have one! 

So I sent Lori some questions about self-love, and she got back to me with these wonderfully insightful responses. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspired me.

1. What initially inspired you to write Tiny Buddha's Guide to Loving Yourself? 

It's something I've planned to do for awhile---start a series of "Tiny Buddha's Guide to" books, drawing from the many inspiring stories on the site.

Self-love seemed like the perfect topic to start with, since this is the core of all personal growth and the foundation for loving others and loving life.

It's also the foundation of my greatest struggles.

For a long time, I thought my life was a mess because of my depression, or my former eating disorder, or my lack of purpose, or my lack of money, but at the heart of all those troubles was my unwavering self-loathing.

2. We all struggle with loving ourselves sometimes, and no one ever truly arrives at a place of complete self-acceptance. It's human nature to be hard on ourselves. How do you deal when loving yourself is hard?

Reminding myself of this truth is the first thing I do. Sometimes I get hard on myself for getting hard on myself, which is incredibly ironic when you think about it.

It's piling judgment on top of pain---emotions on top of emotions---and it's a surefire way to get stuck.

Beyond that, it varies. Sometimes I'm proud of how I deal. I get outside and out of my head and take good care of my mind and body. Other times, I shut down and guard myself until I feel better. I'm a work in progress!

3. Do you ever struggle with looking for truth in the less than flattering things people say or think about you? If so, how do you move past that?

Absolutely. For a long time, I interpreted every criticism or judgment as proof that I was a fundamentally bad person. I literally feared other people's perceptions of me because I saw each one as a mirror.

I became a chameleon, trying to be whatever I thought people would accept. And later, I adopted the "indisputably good person" persona, thinking no one could possibly judge me if I tried really hard to be a short, blond Dalai Lama.

I feel I've made tremendous progress here because I now realize that being disliked by some is a sign that I am being real---and creating the possibility of being liked by others who actually appreciate me for who I am.

To read my full interview with Lori, click here!

<3 Madison