Hello Gypsy Friends!! I do not have a lot of followers or regular readers on my blog yet, but I would still like to explain my absence. Maybe this will be for myself when I decide to look back, or maybe it is for my new readers, but I want to explain to the universe at least, why I took a step back on my blog.
First things first and the most important reason why I put my blog to the side is Esteban, Gypsy and I adopted a new puppy for our family. His name is Vortex and is the cutest Yorkie, Maltese and Chihuahua mix you ever did see. Only weighing three pounds, he started my family on our new adventure. Now I contemplated that "Two Leos And A Gypsy" would be my brand for so long and wondered how he would fit into this space. I still am not 100% sure how to incorporate my new fur-ball into my blog, but you can expect some exciting changes with the format and theme of my blog.
I also started to reflect on my life because Esteban celebrated his 29th birthday with me. We took an adventure that was just us two for two days and it was a wonderful weekend. I needed to contemplate on the new phase in our life seeing as I turned 24 and am wondering what life means to me.
I planned on getting back to my blog over the weekend, but then I fainted and had a whirlwind of an ephiphany. I will speak more of this in a future post, but, it has a lot to do with why being M.I.A. can help your mental health.
The acronym M.I.A. typically means Missing In Action and can be referred to people who you haven't heard from in some time. Understandably, it sometimes has a negative connotation because the person saying this it was probably searching for you and came up empty handed. I recently apologized for going M.I.A. when the though hit me, why am I apologizing? I was not feeling like myself and could sense that change was approaching me. Inside I was conflicted and unable to make strong decisions I could stand behind. I'll admit I was struggling internally.
The two key factors I notice in myself, when I realize I need to go Missing In Action are:
Motivation In Abscence
Many Inner Arguments
Inside of myself I can usually feel a fire, ambition, strength to, well, do anything. I love having hobbies, playing with my TWO dogs, cooking and creating. My mind usually goes a mile a minute thinking of all the possibilities and once this stops... once my fire dims down, I know I need a break.
With this shadow over me, I start to argue with myself. I typically get frustrated at myself for imperfections, stress myself out over little messes and give up when something doesn't go my way. The hardest part about this time is actually realizing that your mood is being infected.
Having these two conflicts is the main reason I go, Missing In Action.
I will be making another post on my M.I.A. rituals, but once you take that time to yourself, M.I.A. can really stand for:
Magnificent Ideas Assembeled
Mindful Intentions Accumulated
A key indicator that I was on my hiatus for long enough is when my creativity revisits me and I am full of ideas and new themes of life. I start to create new art and find new activities for my family. I want to go out again and enjoy the world. Not only do I feel good all around, I can feel my brain glowing again with inspiration.
I wanted to write this post because, although we love to pretend that everything is peaches and cream, sometimes we get the bad fruit. Life is not supposed to be perfect and it is okay to make mistakes. I feel like the pressure of being perfect really weighs on society and reminding yourself to embrace the imperfections is key.
Like I mentioned previously, I will be writing a post on how I take my M.I.A. hiatus, but let me know in the comments your number one destresser. Do you like to take bike rides or maybe cook?