500 Words on Going to Seed

500 Words on Going to Seed — Blue Ink Alchemy

This blog has, admittedly, gone to seed a bit. So much of my energy and time has been consumed with two things: finding a job, and getting/keeping my shit together. That second part is a bigger task than I admit to myself sometimes. I'm not neurotypical, not by a long shot, and there are some days when I simply do not have the bandwidth for leaving the flat, let alone interacting with humans. It's different when I have a dayjob, a structure; left to my own devices, I spend an inordinate amount of time just keeping myself upright and mobile. I try not to berate myself or flagellate myself over this or that: not writing more, not cleaning more, not hunting more jobs, not hammering out my own structure. Self-improvement, especially at fundamental levels of thought patterns and behaviors, takes a lot out of a person. I go over things in my head, events from days or months or years past, and put them under a metaphorical microscope to pick out flaws and find things to learn. There's always something to learn. If you think you don't have to learn anymore, then you've gone to seed just as much as this blog did. I've seen it happen. People get stuck in their ways. They refuse to change. They begin making assumptions — a friend will always be there, a job is secure and one's position is unshakable, "I'm one of the good ones." They don't consider asking questions: how can I change or improve how I'm doing what I'm doing? What steps can I take to learn more, get more perspective? Who do I want to be, and what has to be done to make me that person, who's closer to the best version of myself possible? One doesn't always have the energy or wherewithal to ask these questions, and act on those answers. That's okay. The very baseline thing is the intent, the desire to change oneself and one's circumstances to yield growth and do away with toxicity. Have the conversations, with yourself or with others, that focus on solutions and how you can be a part of them, rather than the problems and who's to blame for them. Take the time to consider the past, learn from it, and apply those lessons to the future. Pick yourself up and move — physically, if you have to — so you never stop growing. That's the way forward. That way lies change. Not everybody can do it. Not everybody has the self-awareness to realize that change starts with the person we live with every day no matter what: ourselves. It lies within ourselves — not our family, not our friends, not the groups or organizations or bandwagons to which we think we belong — to be true vectors of change and growth. Only through thoughtfulness, concerted effort, and the determination and resilience to see these changes through to their conclusions can we avoid going to seed and truly grow as people. Give it a try.

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Blue Ink Alchemy