Hello, friends. Or should I say, hello again.

It feels strange, yet strangely comfortable, to be typing these words into this familiar space. It‘s been nearly five years since my last post, and though I might have gone through a digital silence, in real life, I’ve been anything but quiet. So much has happened, and yet, in some ways, it feels like only yesterday that I wrote my last post. I never intended to leave, but life happens, and I just… fell away from it.

Time is so weird.

And it‘s gotten weirder since COVID, I think.

How the hell has it been five years?

Mind-boggling.

So, where have I been? Well, life, in all its chaotic beauty, has been keeping me busy. COVID sent us all to our rooms in 2020, and the weirdness of this decade continues to spiral, with no end in sight.

I got sent home by COVID on March 13, 2020, and proceeded to be a fully remote worker for the next five years. This past week though, almost five years to the day later, I was called back into the office. It‘s been a week now, and it‘s okay, I guess. The worst part is having to wear a bra every day again. That kind of sucks.

The election in 2024 went sideways, and as a person working in a job that is fully funded by federal grants, it‘s been an ulcer-inducing roller coaster ride.

The congregation I attend has also had a really rough five years—so rough that they’ve ended up with me as the ministerial consultant for the past two years (and let’s be real, I was trying desperately to hold the worship associates and Sunday services together for most of the three years prior as well). It‘s been… a lot.

There have been intense moments of joy, moments of grief, moments of quiet contemplation, and moments of sheer, unadulterated chaos. I’ve explored new avenues, wrestled with old questions, and, most importantly, I’ve grown.

Perhaps some of you, my Unitarian Universalist friends, and those who share a similar yearning for deeper spiritual and existential exploration, have wondered where I wandered off to… Or maybe you‘re totally sick of hearing from me because I‘m constantly preaching at you on Sundays.

That’s also fair.

Or maybe you simply stumbled upon this page today, a new visitor to this old online home.

Either way, I‘m glad you‘re here.

In recent days, I’ve tried experimenting with other digital spaces. I tried Substack, hoping it would be a good fit, but it never quite felt right. All of my old stuff is here, and I didn’t want to leave it behind, like I have most other social media these days.

Shockingly, I’ve stepped away from using Facebook and Instagram.

I miss it, especially my buy-nothing group and Facebook Marketplace, but I couldn’t justify staying on a platform that is actively censoring LGBTQ+ folks while openly allowing Nazi content to remain on their platform. I’ve felt decidedly out of the loop since deactivating, and that’s disorienting at times, but morally, it‘s worth it for me.

I’ll admit, I love me some TikTok. But its future is up in the air. Nextdoor is fine for local issues, but I don’t feel any particular affinity for anyone on that app. Bluesky and Threads are supposed to be the new big thing, and I‘m on them [follow me @voyagersheart]… but they haven’t really caught on yet, so the engagement is really limited there.

But this blog, this space, feels different.

It‘s where my soul has always felt most at home. It‘s where I’ve laid bare my thoughts, my doubts, my hopes, and my dreams. It‘s a digital archive of my journey, a testament to the ever-evolving nature of my being.

Why come back now?

Because I‘m about to end my contract with the church I’ve been serving, and I’ll have time to write again.

Because when things get hard in the world, I handle them in two ways—I write and I organize.

But mostly, because I missed it.

I missed the connection, the thoughtful exchanges, and the sense of home that this space became. I missed the freedom to explore complex ideas without the constraints of character limits or fleeting trends. I missed the chance to be truly vulnerable, with all my messy thoughts and stories laid out like a weird online potluck of ideas to share with whoever wanted to listen.

I’ve come to realize that this blog is more than just a platform; it‘s a sanctuary. It‘s a place where I can be authentically myself, where I can share my reflections, and my questions, about spirituality, existence, and the human experience.

So, consider this my official re-introduction.

I‘m back, and I plan to be more consistent with my posting.

Hopefully.

I have raging ADHD, so we‘ll see.

I‘m eager to reconnect with old friends and welcome new ones. I‘m ready to delve into the questions that keep us up at night, to explore the mysteries of life, and to share the insights I’ve gained along the way.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. And thank you for joining me on this continuing journey.

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