Thoughts from a hostel´s common room

in #writing6 years ago (edited)

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I´ve been highly disconnected from all social media, Steem included - or to rephrase, disconnected from technology - for a little more than a month.

To some of you, this behaviour might come off as contradictive and negative from my part, because I´ve been a strongly vocal Steemian when it comes to posting daily, having a committment with our blog and audience, keep engaging when the steem price is low and interacting and encouraging interaction accross the steem blockchain, especially during a dry streak.

Recently, there´s been a lot going on regarding our blockchain, a lot of projects are being born, initiatives like the State of Steem and the Steem alliance gathered a lot of people in the same place, having discussions and striving to work together, something new to out community; small communities are getting bigger and big communities are launching their Dapp, Frontend or interaction website.

I´ve been part of this blockchain for a little more than one year and a half and, to be able to see it evolve they it´s been is amazing and makes me proud about us.

Don´t get me wrong, I´ve been reading a lot and browsed Steem almost daily for half an hour, maybe an hour every night. I just stopped checking discord messages - sorry if I didn´t reply to you or took a long time to do it - and posting/interacting in the various Steem Frontends; not because I didn´t want to, but because I needed to stop and get out of the woods to be able to see the full picture and to assess my next move, both Steem Blockchain related and Personal life related.

Of course @steemonboarding is still being developed and baked, this project has nothing to do with this situation assesment I´m telling you about, I´m talking about individual stuff here.

In one of my oldest community focused posts, I write about how reinventing ourselves and keep evolving is key for keeping our audience interested and interacting with us. So, what happens when this reinventing and creative inspiration is there, but we don´t really know how to translate it to words (or posts)?

I decided to stop posting. To keep reading but not interacting; to evaluate what I want to do next.

I started by travel/adventure-blogging because well duh, I was traveling; then I evolved into community advice kind of posting because I realized a lot of people started to follow me and look up to me; then I got a delegation from @blocktrades, so I started to focus in rewarding the community and encourage interaction and involvement from and with the people from Steem; now, I´m not traveling, there are so many people posting about tips/advice and I no longer have my delegation - temporarily, hopefully - so the logical step, at least for me, is to determine what I want to focus my blog about.

So here I am, in the common room of a jungle-like hostel, as the last 25 days, trying to figure out my next step in life and thus, my next focus point of my Steem blog.

I have some ideas, and I think I have the proper inspiration to make it happen. If everything goes according plan - it rarely does - I´ll start posting about it tomorrow. Or perhaps tonight, who knows.


I want to thank everyone who messaged me to check up on me and see if I was still alive, I´ll reply to all your messages in the next few hours, it´s nice to see some Steemians caring enough to write a check up message when they see you are not posting as much as you used to.

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Hey man!

Good to hear you are still checking in, even if not posting.

Hopefully the break has been good for you and new ideas will arrive onto Steem soon.

Later!

Hey man, I would never survive without checking in and read around, especially since these days have been of extreme change on our Blockchain! Thanks for dropping by :))

Good to see you here, even if it's just for a little bit :-) Those reflection phases need be experienced in full, and that means not writing or interacting, or those stories and conversations get tangled up with your own thoughts.

I'm not someone who starts DM'ing people just because they take time off - I see that as a healthy thing, I often wonder why I'm so 'afraid' to not post for a week. As if we're forgotten so easily...

Cheers and take care :-) Will see you when you feel like it.

Exactly, can´t allow being biased or influenced by outside opinions, when certain decision will only affect you. I was also very afraid of disconnecting myself for so long and I actually stopped doing a lot of things and trips because I knew I would be 4G-less for more than 24 hours and I couldn´t allow myself not curate or not interact with the community! Can you belive that?

Hugs all the way to the Netherlands Rosanne!!

actually stopped doing a lot of things and trips

Mehhh - yeah, I know the feeling and I've heard more people talk about it. Pausing life because there was a need to blog.

Hugs in return dear Eric! Hope you're figuring things out and come back stronger and wiser then ever before :D

Great to hear you take these steps as sometimes stepping back and reflecting highlights the best path forward. Building community seems to be exhausting and daunting but I also think that it is a fulfilling experience. I continue to look forward to your projects so welcome back!

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It´s an everyday job, to build community and mantain relationships/interactions fresh, and yes, it´s quite hard and sometimes tiresome, but when you like it, it´s not like having a job but like a hobby. Even so, it´s necesary some times to take breaks, otherwise we can burn out too fast!

Awesome to hear from you after so long and cannot wait to see what emerges from your cocoon!!!

Thanks Lindsay! I hope I can get back on track tomorrow and re-start posting daily!

Sometimes, we need to stop talking and start listening.
Sometimes, we need to stop writing and start reading.
Becoming an audience is a great blessing because it helps us to refresh for another great strike.

Thanks @Anomadsoul for stopping by.

You inspiring many!

Wise words my friend, indeed sometimes we need to step back and stop talking and writing to be able to open our own minds to the outside world. Thanks for your thoughtful comment mate!

I admire you bro, we have about the same amount of time and you have demonstrated you are role model for the Hispanic community.

You are one of those steemians that make it impossible to leave.

Thanks a lot, I'll never forget the support you gave to our projects, the effort you've done and the example you've set.

Whatever the new you will be i am sure it will be great and will have the uttermost success.

Didn’t know you’ve been in the jungle bud. Glad you’re ok and looking forward to reconnecting via Discord

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Jungle/beach zone around here man! Me too, I´ll come back full force soon :)

Great. Shoot me a message :)

Good luck! I think it is smart to take the time to evaluate where you are and what you want to do next. I was a little worried that I hadn't seen a new post from you in a while. I look forward to reading about whatever you end up deciding to do next. You are right, I think a lot of people do look up to you, so I have no doubt you will come up with something absolutely brilliant to move forward with!

Hey glad you’re still alive!!! Same on my end I’ve been rather off these past weeks...but inspiration comes in waves so no worries !!! 😀👍

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Still alive! I´ve been paying attention to your other social media posts (you traitor), I´m glad to see the belly´s evolution <3
Hugs and kisses Eve!

LOL i hadan excuse heheheh but now I'm back =)

Nice to see you back blogging mate and travelling as well. That hostel looks like a nice place to be holed up :-)

The next step will come to you, when you're mind is ready. Well... that's the way it always works for me anyway. When I least expect it.

That place where you are is totally inviting to detach from technology, I get ya there..

Curious to see what your new step will be, your posts always bring a smile to my face

If I could, I would detach myself from everything forever, but duty calls! Hahaha

I didn´t know you were a regular reader of my posts <3 That really made my day :) I´ll try to keep up with the expectations!

hehe duty calls indeed! Still on the hunt for that perfect solution to combine chilling with awesomeness (ow wait I am already doing that now)

Yeah man, Im a lurker...once a lurker, always a lurker!

Hey :) So glad to see you here. I wasn't worried to be honest, I'm sure you ain't that easy to take down. I guess everyone needs some time to deconnect and figure things out, right? hope to see you posting more soon!

Glad to see you're OK and just 'unplugging' for a while. I think we all need that once in a while. And you've been working your butt off the past year or so, so it's good that you take some time to rethink and recuperate. You need to take care of YOU first.

I'm sure when you get back, you'll be full on blasting your loveliness again, so enjoy your off-time.

Much love from Ireland @anomadsoul

Hey👋🏼😎🌴 happy you're fine and coming back reloaded with new ideas!💪😁

Posted using Partiko Android

Is this the hostel in Playa del Carmen where we had been together? I think I remember the place.

Exactly the same man! I hope you are doing great in Viena, cheers!

Cool this one is so cosy with so many nice people inside. I can remember meeting Pilar and Frank there, too. In Vienna everything is running. The @globalschool winter camp is fun. You are very welcome here! Maybe for the summer camp. In June, July, August it's getting hot again. You are also invited to join on my 30th Birthday on August 13th. There I will throw a huge party! ;)

Thank you so much for participating in the Partiko Delegation Plan Round 1! We really appreciate your support! As part of the delegation benefits, we just gave you a 3.00% upvote! Together, let’s change the world!

Hi @anomadsoul!

Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 6.273 which ranks you at #228 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has not changed in the last three days.

In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 368 contributions, your post is ranked at #6.

Evaluation of your UA score:
  • You've built up a nice network.
  • The readers appreciate your great work!
  • Great user engagement! You rock!

Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server

I’ve been kind of doing the same… It is good to hear an update from you!
I’ve had some professional and personal challenges recently… And they have forced me to retreat into a bit of a cocoon…

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You've been visited by @riverflows, on behalf of Natural Medicine. Love your work!

Oh, and we'd love it so much if you could nominate us here for the chance of a delegation from the generous @theycallmedan - it'd really help this little community support natural healing wisdoms on Steemit! Kisses and hugs and all things nice! We are also voting for @homesteaderscoop!

Consider supporting Natural Medicine through continued use of the #naturalmedicine tag, or delegating any amount through clicking below. We're all for empowerment in natural ways, and love to support those on their healing journey. Come join us on Discord if you're not already there! We'd so love to have you.

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Hey lovely..... a break from social media is so good for our souls Xxxx Hope you are well xx

Good luck finding your new direction! You always come up great ideas!

ǝɹǝɥ sɐʍ ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴

Ahahaha thanks for the big vote mate! Nice layout of your comments :P