This is the end

Beautiful friend

This is the end

My only friend

The end

--The Doors

As they say, all good things come to an end. I’m reminded of the movie Forrest Gump, in which Forrest decides to run back and forth across the United States for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours. In the middle of a desolate road in Monument Valley, UT he stops running and says,

I’m pretty tired now…think I’ll go home.

And that’s the end of the run. I suppose sometimes it’s time to hang it up no matter how long you have been doing something (not that I’ve been writing for *that* long anyway).

I have been a big proponent of the streak on 200WAD, encouraging others to keep going. Maybe I just finally lost the mojo. Maybe I feel like someone else deserves to be at the top of the Fellowship board. 

As cool as this tool created by @basilesamel is, maybe I finally accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. 

I suppose this would also mean no more reading and interacting with the 200WAD community. I’ll miss out seeing @valentino and @vickenstein keep marching forward relentlessly. I’ll miss the great wisdom and motivation from @RealNegotiator. I’ll no longer read that @jasonleow doesn’t know what to write about yet continues to deliver descriptive imagery of such simple activities as eating a bowl of ramen. I won’t be able to share sleeping tips and hear about the latest strategies for health and life improvement from @santhoshguru. I would definitely miss the superb and deep insights from @abrahamkim. Oh and how could I fail to mention the random brilliance of @lucjah?? I would also have to forgo the opportunity to see whether @OnepostersGems finally gets a response from a one-poster. “The suspense is terrible…I hope it’ll last.” Then you have good ol’ @haraldroine who appears to be writing in Norwegian and probably has profound insights, but I’m too lazy to use Google Translate to see what he’s writing. I would also be giving up all the productivity tips from @juliasaxena. Last but certainly not least is my #1 fan @keni who has been so encouraging along this journey.

There are so many more to mention. But sooner or later the music stops, the food is cold, the drinks are warm, and the party is over. 

Then I think about one of my favorite posts on 200WAD by @haideralmosawi Your Writings Matter More Than You Think.

That is what I grappled with the most before arriving at my decision. I suppose I could end by telling everyone else to keep going, but that would be rather hypocritical wouldn’t it?

Over 34K words. Not a bad run. I’m pretty tired now…think I’ll go home.

The End.

4-1-20

I just couldn’t pull off an April Fool’s prank this year, so I’m settling for last year’s subterfuge. What a shame many of the people I highlighted are no longer writing on the platform.

As crazy as March was, I have a feeling April is going to get crazier. I’m re-evaluating my method of operation. I have been trying to maintain business as usual, but it’s still difficult. My life isn’t actually as disrupted as the lives of many other people, so I don’t know what the problem is.

What I do know is that I want to focus on gratitude. I’m grateful for my health and turning it around to a point where I am less susceptible to invisible killers. I am grateful that I have a job and can work from home. I am grateful that I live in an area where I am able to access groceries and needed services. I am grateful to stay in touch with friends and family even though there is distance between us. 

I need to stay focused on the positive and continue providing value to others.