Wow. It seems to happen so fast.

Over the last couple weeks, during walks, I have witnessed a new house going up.

First, the area was fenced off, then the foundation was poured. A small crew handled the rough framing and insulation. Although I couldn’t see the actual work being done, I considered that plumbing and some basic electrical work had taken place.

Drywall and interior work will follow.  Eventually landscaping. I imagine the property is still owned by a development company, but it won’t be long before new owners take possession.

As a run of nearby sidewalk has been occupied by lumber and saws, I’ve been enmeshed in my own “construction” project.

A few months ago, I set out to refresh my website. I started my blog, No Small Thing — Mindful Meditations, in 2010 so that I would have a gratitude and writing practice. I hoped the goal of posting every week would lead me to contemplate positive experiences more often and brighten my outlook.

It’s done so much more. Expecting to find things to appreciate all around me changed how I lived.

When I moved the blog from blogspot to its own address in 2013, I didn’t tell myself it would be the “last time” I’d tinker with things, but not having an easy relationship or skillset around the technology, changing things loomed as a huge undertaking.

After COVID restrictions reduced options to retail my books (released a year earlier) at farmers markets and other neighborhood events, it became clear that I had to do more promotion with my website.

Like reading Hebrew right to left, it felt like I had done so many things the opposite of the usual way.  Instead of having a business website and adding a blog to humanize the enterprise, I started with a blog. I introduced myself and provided examples of what I do and am now trying to develop a business around sharing what I know with others.

Maybe this idea is not so unusual. While educational institutions are promoting various certification programs that can be obtained without stepping into a classroom, everyday people, seeing value in their own discoveries, are turning to all different platforms to reach people and provide their own brand of wisdom.

The process of working in a medium beyond words has been hard for me.

Finding a designer and developer was challenging. I knew, in general, what I wanted, but not what was required in order to make my plans a reality. I wanted a new look, but I wanted to make ten years of old content available to new readers.

I also had to deal with current web design trends, which I feel are mostly geared to younger visitors. Websites are now supposed to be “experienced,” not “read.”  There’s so much more that can be done than there was in 2013.

Still, if my target audience is people my age and the vibe I want is reflective, using pop-ups doesn’t work well.

I embarked on this project in February. It seems to be coming together just now. It has taken far longer than I anticipated and I know there are still things to work out, but I feel a shift in me. I’m ready to put my best into the world AND keep working on things.

In the course of this project, I’ve learned how to:

• Stick to what is important and adapt to new ways that make sense.
• Keep mindful of the interests of my audience.
• Integrate “Calls to Action,” (including asking people to buy something of value I’ve created), with what I want to give away.

The most important thing, of course, is to recognize that being alive involves always being “under construction.”

Many business consultants and writers have coined spin-offs on the phrase “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”  Life seems to call for doing your best and then considering every moment as a new starting point. People were never meant to hold out for perfection.

Learning to live with hope and enthusiasm, while things are still unsettled or in-process, is no small thing.