Where did time go? What happened? Let me tell you…
(1) Blogging is like exercise. You blog every week for a while and think you deserve a short break and then a short break turns into a long one. One may wonder… if you enjoy blogging so much, why coming back from a short back is so difficult? I don’t know. All I know is I have experienced the same problem with exercising.
(2) I was ready to come back a couple of weeks (a month?) ago, then I saw an ad on my post. An ad with a not-so-pleasant picture, that was. I have never seen an ad on my blog (I don’t know why); I understand WP have to make money somewhere, and I am okay with adding ads in posts. But an ad with a not-so-pleasant picture? Worse yet, the same ad was displayed 3 times in a short post. How often do my readers have to suffer through this? I dislike the picture so much that I immediately shut down my phone, didn’t even know what the ad was for. At that moment, I was considering shutting down my blog (or pay the money to get rid of ads?)
(3) I was asked to write a short essay every week (in Chinese) to my Buddhist class. I found out that as long as I had one outlet for my creativity to go, I am quite satisfied and happy. It’s a short essay, but as all writers know – we love revising. It has kept me busy these days.
Thank you for all the nice comments I have received recently. Your comments brought a lot of smile to my face. It’s interesting that after writing in Chinese for a while, I am not use to writing in English anymore. I will work on that. Ha.
Now, a letter to a fan… I have to post it here because I don’t have other way to reach him/her.
Dear Fan,
Your letter was supposed to come 3 days ago according to the notification I’ve received, but it didn’t. It didn’t come a day later either. After reporting “missing mail”, I finally received it yesterday. Missing one corner (USPS attached a note apologizing), but it didn’t seem like anything was missing.
OMG! It’s interesting to me that you saw my book at Amazon first, and then found my blog. After reading what you said about my writing, I thought to myself, “Isn’t this every writer dying to hear?” Then I read what you think about my photos, I thought: “Wow! Every photographer (professional or not) would love to hear this!” When I finished reading the letter, I concluded that this is a letter that would be appreciated by any human being. Thank you! (And thank you for your cat photo and the lucky charm!)
Needless to say, I was stuffed with emotions. Like the above photo… huge amount of beautiful emotions. I was a little confused too, not knowing how to respond. One thing I knew was that I wish I could share my happiness with everyone; I have enough to share with everyone in the world!
I do have more to say… (surprise?)
From my experience, there are three groups of people: one who thinks they are better than anyone; one always finds good things in others; and those who know themselves well and know others too. I have a feeling that you, maybe, have given too much credit to others and not enough to yourself. When I read your letter, I felt you are just like me: compassion, loving, kind… etc. (Yes, I have all that; what I am working on is to have all these all the time 😉 Think about it… you made an effort, writing to a stranger to let her know how much you enjoy her work, if this is not “compassion, loving, kind”, what is it?
You said my words gave you hope, perspective and acceptance. But not everyone found hope in my writing! Do you know what that means? It means that you, yourself, have a hope “seed” in your heart, and my words, maybe, provided a little sunshine to help that seed grow. Now, “acceptance”… the most important lesson I have learned in my life is to accept (and love) myself. Trust me, we are better than we thought we are! If we aren’t now, we can be! 😉
I can talk whole day, can you tell? I don’t like long post…
You signed your letter as “A Fan”. Wikipedia says: Fan (person), a fanatical enthusiast or supporter, especially with regard to entertainment and sports.
I used to be a fan of being a fan. I was a fan to many. Thinking back, there was this element of “blind trust” when I was a fan to someone. In a couple of cases, when I got to know the person, I realized that a part of him/her was just like me. So, instead of being a fan, how about joining the team to make this world better, and I suggest to start by patting your back congratulating yourself for making someone love herself a little more. 😉
So, I thank you. I will never forget your letter. Happy Holidays to you, too.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
HHC Blog 
Be careful not to lose your English. When a woman came from Germany with her new husband (down the street from me). She was so eager to be an American, she would only speak, read and write in English. After a while we had to find her an interpreter because she could not read her parent’s letters. It was sad.
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Thanks, GP. I have learned my lesson long time ago. When my daughter started daycare school, she didn’t know any English so she couldn’t communicate with her teachers. Trying to help her learning English as soon as possible, we started speaking English at home. Now she doesn’t know too many Chinese words… one of my regrets.
Good night.
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Welcome back Helen with this beautiful post, I love every word and specially about acceptance and love, thanks for sharing!!!
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Thank you, Paulo. It took me a lot of time to learn a lot of things (not too smart 😉 ; I like to share, so other people can save some learning time.
Good night.
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Hi Helen, welcome back and it’s good to know how you are these days. Thank you for visiting my blog too. I also have the feeling of being difficult continue blogging, but once I tell myself it’s okay to write what you want, I can start to write again. I didn’t see any inappropriate add on your blog, perhaps because I am also a WordPress user and I always log in?
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Thank you so much (I couldn’t find your name on your blog ;-(
My dad said I was lacking music genes (he played huqin). I like reading your post, hoping to learn more about music…
Like I said to Mabel, I wouldn’t call the ad inappropriate; I just don’t like the picture that comes with it. I usually don’t see ads on anyone’s blog, but once in a while I would. I haven’t figured out how this works yet.
Taiwan’s elections is over. I hope it is quiet and peaceful now.
Have a great day.
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Hi Helen, thanks for your warm wishes. It’s good to know my blog can be helpful to you or anyone in some way. After blogging for a long time, sometime I wonder why I keep on doing this. Time is valuable. I only hope I don’t waste too much of other people’s time in reading something that may not be directly related to their own lives.
Your father can play erhu? That’s good. I don’t know too much about traditional Chinese musical instruments or traditional Chinese music. The only thing I can think of is the erhu I’ve heard in the arrangement of some pop songs. It’s really a unique sound.
As for the election, it’s hard to know if there will be anything changed after this. I never fully trust any candidate or party. I feel all politicians are pretty much the same.
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Helen–I am so happy that you are back. You ARE back, right? 🙂 I think you have many fans, but one that took the time to write you a letter–that is so special and so wonderful. Take care, my friend.
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Thank you, Lois. Yes, I am back. 😉 It’s nice to be back.
You are amazing, my friend! Week after week reading your new post, I wonder how you do it. Lots of disciplines for sure! I truly admire you!!!
Good night.
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Ah such a lovely post. It reminds me the reason why I started the blog!
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Thank you, Rupali. It’s a good reminder! Please keep blogging 😉
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Lovely to see you again, Helen. Agree with you blogging is like an exercise – you set aside time for it, participate in it by posting and visiting other blogs. Sometimes we need that break…and realise how much else there is to enjoy out there. I went on a blogging break recently and coming back was hard. Time for myself is so important to me, and being away from the blog was peaceful 🙂
Sorry to hear about the inappropriate ads. For me, I choose to monetize my blog through Wordads (don’t really make much but I do it, why not). These days so many online platforms are running ads…so hard to get away from. Maybe you can report that ad.
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Thank you, Mabel. Thank you for your understanding. Yes, I did notice you were on a break. I remember thinking “Hmm… I wonder what she is busy with.” 😉 Your new post is an interesting one. It makes me think.
I wouldn’t call the ad inappropriate; I just don’t like the picture that comes with it. You try so hard to pick the photos to share and a picture like that can ruin the whole feelings.
Take care.
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Busy with writing a book and living a life… 😉 So true one picture can change the feel of a post, even if it’s just an. I do notice the ads on WordPress have an ‘x’ at the top right. Click on that and you can elect to mention why the ad is distasteful. Maybe that can help.
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Thank you!!! I will press that ‘x’ when I see the ad on the next time. Good luck on writing your book (and living a life, as a matter of fact 😉
Have a great day.
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It is good to hear from you again. I missed you! I find that I’m a bit bothered by the ad…have you reached out to WP and shared your experience?
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Thank you, Brenda. I’m always looking forward to seeing your new post. I know I have missed a couple of your photo study; they are on my to-do list 😉 I really enjoy studying your photo-study 😉
Like I told Mabel, the ad itself is not inappropriate; I just don’t like the picture that comes with it. WP has to make money somewhere. Beggars can’t be choosers, unfortunately.
Good night.
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Welcome back! It must have been a lovely letter to prompt such a lovely reply.
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Thanks, Anabel. I may frame that letter and that should tell you how lovely it is. Ha. She (I think it was written by a sweet lady… I think) definitely gives me more credit than I deserve. In a way, her letter has given me some goals to work on, and having goals is a good thing.
Have a great day.
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Can’t agree more, sometimes I intend to take a short break from blogging, and a short break becomes a long one. ^^
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Thank you, Edward. It’s always nice to have someone agree with you 😉
Have a great day.
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Thanks Helen. Have a great week ahead! 😊
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Welcome back Helen I’ve missed you! I don’t post as often as I used to .. but I so enjoy this blogging world, and communicating with people like you!
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Thanks, Julie. I miss you, too. I like the way you write your stories and show your photos at the same time. I wrote a letter that way recently, and I was thinking “I bet this is how Julie did it.” Ha. Please post when you have some free time 😉
Have a wonderful day.
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Oh thank you .. I loved that you thought of me after writing your letter! 😃
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I was very worried people were seeing ads on my blog, but I never saw any ads on your blog. I know what you mean in this posting, exactly what you mean. I just hate the idea that someone else would be putting an ad for something I do not support or a picture I do not like. I asked a friend and she said she did not see any ads on my blog. Just the idea of ads makes me upset. I pay You Tube not to have ads, but I can’t do that on everything. And I do understand that the ads pay for this free platform. Please let me know if you ever see ads on my blog. I know WordPress tells us that there may be some.
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I haven’t figured out how it works… I’ve never seen any ads on my blog before until that day, and I haven’t seen any after that day. And I don’t see them at other bloggers’ blog most of the time. Only once in a while I would see it at someone’s blog.
I decided that I am not going to worry about it. Maybe you should, too. Ha ha.
Good night. And do sleep well 😉
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When I re-read my answer to you just now, I see how obsessed I am about this topic. Well, I won’t worry about the ads on WordPress. Because I was a teacher, I am super aware of the control on young people’s minds media and advertising can have. They have less effect on our older established selves. There is a reason companies spend huge amounts of money on advertising.
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Ha ha ha… You made me worried for a while. I am glad you won’t worry about the ads on WP 😉
Have a great day.
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