Season of Lagom
I have recently turned 30. While I'm not scared or morose by that fact, it has caused me to be reflective.
Signs of aging are becoming more and more apparent. I am beginning to face more and more consequences of pushing my body too hard. It is time for me to be more intentional about my health and live more sustainably.
It is time to enter the Season of Lagom.
Lagom is a Swedish word with not direct English equivalent. It is a term that means, "not too little, not too much," "just enough," and "in moderation."
To me, lagom means not eating another slice of pizza after I am full just because it's the last piece and I don't want to leave it.
Lagom means putting a handful of snacks onto a plate instead of grabbing (and likely finishing) the whole bag.
Lagom means only giving two examples and not compulsively following the rule of threes.
Oh, wait...
My Season of Lagom means embracing a philosophy of just enough.
With regard to physical health, this means:
- less sugar
- less caffeine
- less alcohol
- less meat
- less processed food
- more fruit and veggies
- more exercise
- more outdoors
It will also mean more stretching and less pushing my body to it's limit for the sake of speed or convenience.
With regard to mental and spiritual health, this means:
- less YouTube/TV
- less mindless scrolling
- less algorithms
- more reading
- more silence
- more prayer
With regard to this blog, this means:
A different host/platform for my blog to run off of.
Previously this blog was provided by Ghost. They are great. I love what they're doing. But, I was paying for way more than what I wanted or needed.
So, to keep things more sustainable and inline with my ideals, I have moved to Bear.
To me, Bear blogs are another definition of lagom. They are just enough with nothing extra.
With regard to monetization, this means:
No more subscriptions and paywalled content!
Bear does not have any monetization built in like Ghost does. Therefore, I have had to reevaluate how I want to handle keeping the lights on.
First, the change to Bear in and of itself makes things easier. Bear cost significantly less than what I was paying for Ghost. "A penny saved is a penny earned," and those pennies saved by leaving Ghost can keep the lights on for a long time at Bear.
Second, I've never felt right about paywall subscriptions. I don't like the idea of internet content that is locked away and not freely available. I also haven't liked the idea of having to figure out what to create that adds enough value for a subscription to be worth it.
To put it another way, I'd rather follow the Muse instead of the calendar. I'd rater optimize for creativity instead of monetization.
So, with this move to Bear, I will be moving from subscriptions and paywalls to donations/tips with open access to what I make.
If you would like to support what I do,
Ko-fi gives me the flexibility to accept support anyway it wants to be given. Going forward, Ko-fi will also give me a platform to distribute my books in a more open way.
To me, Ko-fi is the lagom way to be compensated for creative endeavors.
Recap
So, it is the Season of Lagom. With that comes personal changes for the betterment of my health, a switch to the simple blogging platform Bear, and a move to donations through Ko-fi.
Thanks!
You are Love.
PS: My book is still coming along. It's going slower than I anticipated, and not quite going in the direction I had planned, but things are still moving along. I'll hopefully be able to share some more information about it soon.