I’m a pretty big proponent of the below idea.
The private counselor I went to after separating from my ex- used the analogy of a cookie jar. She said that if you gave away all of your cookies, well, there were no more cookies. We can’t count on others to fill our cookie jar for us. We need to make sure to fill our own cookie jar, and then we can give away some of our cookies. If others kept their cookie jars full, they would be able to give us some of their cookies.
I get better all the time at keeping my cookie jar full. I write, create, read, compliment, exercise, meditate, socialize, express gratitude, share myself. I celebrate myself in all of these ways.
Even with this diversity of cookies, it is still nice to receive cookies from others.
Lately, these cookies have come in the form of compliments about my blog.
I go back and forth regarding whether I write this thing for myself or for others. The reality is that it’s both. To my surprise and delight, I’m a writer! I enjoy sharing my story and myself through the written word. But there’s also the reality that if no one gave me feedback that the blog was helpful to them, I would have closed up shop awhile ago and just continued my private journaling.
I still write in my private journal. It gives me a place to sort out things that are too private for the internet. Or sometimes it’s a place I hash out ideas before committing them to pixels.
Overall, writing soothes me, and quite a number of people find this blog to be helpful too.
It’s a win-win situation.
So thank you for donuts and cookies! These tasty pastries, coupled with my own contribution, allow me to give my extra cookies to others.