Happenings and a hiatus – and VeganMoFo!

This post has been written in my head several times over the past months. If I’d ever actually posted it up, it would have begun in a different way each time. For instance, on 1st September, it would have been about the anniversary of launching the blog last year, which did seem like an apt date for re-launching it this year. For 1st August, deemed the annual birthday for horses, I would have brought up the issues of exploitation and suffering inherent in the horseracing industry. Back on 1st July I would have decreed the fresh start to be in synch with the new Australian financial year. There were more ideas on earlier dates, but you get the picture!

So, why has it taken so long to actually write this post and hit publish? It’s hard to answer, but I can at least explain why I stopped blogging so early on in the first place – that part of it is simple. Sadly, there were several months last year, and also bleeding into early this year, that were tinged with death. Between May and January it seemed each month brought more news of the loss of friends, family members, and former colleagues. May 2011 came out of the blocks hard – six deaths in just its 31 days – even to the point where I had to miss one funeral because I was travelling to another. I initially thought I was coping reasonably with the events, and I was consciously taking steps (such as seeing a relaxation therapist) to support myself through it all. I was striving to use the news each time as a reminder that life is short and precious and it’s important to appreciate what a gift it is, and take every opportunity one can to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. And I was excited when I launched this blog in September. But then finally, after a particularly unexpected, sudden, and seemingly unwarranted death, I lost my resilience altogether and in mid-October withdrew from almost all unnecessary/extracurricular activities – with blogging being one such area I completely cut out.

It’s not worth going into the intervening months in this one small blog post, but I am happy to report that around the middle of the year I really felt my resilience starting to return. I began a structured exercise program, the weather seemed to be kinder than it had been, we moved back home after a long renovation project, and things just seemed to be coming together once again. And then, I was recently reminded that VeganMOFO was coming up again in October, and it seemed the ideal time to return to blogging. Why blogging? And why this blog, “Veganthused”, in particular? Put simply, a significant part of what I consider to be fulfilling and meaningful work is the central mission of this blog: to spend time and effort “inspiring and encouraging others to explore and embrace veganism”.

So, this month will bring a multitude of postings about delicious vegan dishes… some healthy, some decadent treats. I’m particularly excited about publishing some fun video recipes that are ready to share with the world. VeganMoFo also offers the opportunity to go ‘blog hopping’ – you can check out the blogroll of participants from all over the globe. The variety of themes and styles is astounding, but they pretty much have one thing in common – you’re bound to be left drooling over a huge array of vegan food.

Congratulations to VeganMOFO for the continued growth of this annual event, and a personal vote of thanks for being a springboard for me to leap whole-heartedly back into the big world of vegan blogging. Because through it all, even the dark patches of the past year and a half, I didn’t waver once from my commitment to veganism, and I remain as Veganthused as ever!{jcomments on}