Hello, and how are you? I’m so glad our paths have crossed on this journey, even if it is perhaps just for today.
I don’t have a huge following on this blog, and that’s fine by me. I’m always pleasantly surprised with each new follower I receive. And I feel the same way with each comment or “like” that I get on a post. Some of you–four or five–I have known for years. Others I feel I’ve gotten to know over the past six months through your comments and our exchanges. It really has given me a sense of community and contact knowing that there are others out there sharing this journey with me, one day at a time. And even if you have never commented on this site, just knowing that these words have crossed your screen is an enchanting notion. And yes, I suppose there is some ego tangled up in those enchanting emotions, but I also think there’s something else going on–something more rooted in the ways in which our shared words and shared reading can create a community.
So something interesting happened a couple of days ago. I was looking at my stats (yes, I can’t ignore them), and I noticed a bunch of views coming from the country of Rwanda. Then I noticed that I was getting that exact number of single page views from my posts dating back to January. Apparently, someone in Rwanda is reading through my blog in sequential order, starting on Day 1.
The next day and the day after was the same thing–a different number of pages covered each day, but always sequential. As of today, he or she has worked through about half of my blog posts. And in a few more days, he or she will be reading this one–or so I hope.
So I thought it would be nice today to greet you, and to say thank you for traveling this road with me.
And not just to my reader from Rwanda, who has made it to this page, but to you as well.
I’m not sure I could have made it this far without you!
Yes, I am writing this blog for myself as a kind of discipline or practice, but of course every writer has an audience in mind as well. How wonderful it is to receive feedback from that audience while I’m still in the process of working through these daily challenges and ideas.
I started off this blog with a reference to Thoreau, and perhaps he and Emerson haunt more than a few pages here. But unlike Thoreau’s withdrawal from society for two years, two months, and two days, it’s clear to me that while the will to live more simply may arise from an individual, deliberate act, it is best lived–for me at least–within community.
So thanks. I really do appreciate your community and your support.
365 Simplify 
And I really appreciate reading your blog everyday! Thank you 🙂
Thanks! You are certainly one of those people I think about now and then when I’m writing, knowing that my blog has become a part of your morning routine!
Blogging makes for interesting communities that span the globe.
That’s true–but I somehow find it more surprising when I discover that someone reading this blog is practically in my backyard–like having you share that you have gone swimming in the Wilson River of all places!
Well, I also have been following your blog sequentially! And I have finally caught up today! So me and the person from Rwanda have something in common. I have enjoyed reading your blog very much, especially as I had relatives who lived in the Atlanta area at one time and remember many happy holidays with them. The one thing I kept thinking, when working my way through your blog, was weren’t you glad you had begun the decluttering before you knew you had to make a major move! Serendipity that was. Listening to your inner voice. Are you a Quaker? You sound as though you might be. Anyway, hope the move goes well and you all don’t have nervous breakdowns. Having recently moved myself I know where you are coming from – and I don’t have kids to complicate the issue!
Wow–talk about serendipity–here you are landing on this page on the day you “catch up!”
Yes, I have thought quite a bit about how this whole “year of living simply” came about–and where it seems to be taking me. I think about all that has happened in six months and can’t image what the next six months will hold.
Good day. I am the person from Rwanda, where I am on assignment for five weeks. My husband and I have been on a similar simplification journey for the past 18 months. We’ve recently moved to Thailand, taking with us nothing more than our clothing and technology.
This assignment is one of the most difficult I’ve had in my eight years of short term consultancies. Your blog has reminded me that this, too, shall pass and helped me to remain calm. Thank you for the insights, the setbacks and the determination to continue.
Good luck with your impending move. I will continue to follow your journey – from Rwanda, Thailand, France and wherever else life and work may take me this year.
Whoa–talk about needing to travel lightly and wear the world lightly! And here I am fretting a move just 300 miles up the road. I would love to hear more of your adventures. Do you have a blog by any chance? If not, might I persuade you to start one? They travel well–even internationally!
No blog and no imminent plans to start one. For me, blogging would run counter to the simpler existence I crave. However, I enjoy others’ blogs, such as yours.
You seem to be handling the impending move well. Long may it last. All the best.
Thanks–and safe & happy travels to you!