About

SWIMMING IN THE MUD: Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs Without Drowning

We have moments of clarity.  We have moments of confusion.  No matter who you are, how good your life seems, everyone has or will have their turn at swimming in the mud.

The trick with swimming in the mud is kinda simple… whatever you do, don’t stop swimming.  The moment you stop, you’re going under.  And if you think it’s tough making your way on the murky surface, it’s even worse finding your way if you allow yourself to slip under even once.  This much I know, whatever you do… keep swimming.

As for me, I’m working on my backstroke.

Catch up with you soon.

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Hi! My name is Sue. I started this blog (the first of many) in 2011. 

From the beginning and throughout almost two years of sharing on this blog, I thought of “swimming in the mud” in the struggling sense. It had been a visceral metaphor for my frame of mind when I first started writing, where I tended to touch more on these topics:

Death; Tragedy and Trauma; Mental Health challenges; Chronic Physical Illness; Divorce; the repercussions of Unresolved Childhood Trauma;  the threat of Job Loss; Long-Term Unemployment; Financial Setbacks and Uncertainty; Isolation from Family and Friends; Familial Rifts; Loss of Identity; Ageism; striving to Align Vocation with Life Purpose.

In 2013, I clearly surfaced and saw that the “mud” is also healing. That’s when the duality of “swimming in the mud” finally resonated, which allowed me to expand further into these topics:

Love; Hope; Connection to Nature; Connection to the Universe; Serendipity; Gratitude; Connection to Self; Connection to Others; Spiritual Growth; Emotional Evolution; Awareness; Healing; Forgiveness; Acceptance; Being Present; Staying Positive; Humor; Fueling Creativity; Playing.

Was it by chance I started with a murky metaphor for my blog name that would suit me well into the healing phase as well? I don’t think so. Serendipity and synchronicity have had a stronger presence in my life than chance. I truly believe that is so because I am heading in a healing direction. I am emotionally evolving and spiritually growing, and I know I am not alone in that journey.

I expect that I will at times struggle in the mud and at other times play in the mud, but now I am comforted in knowing that it all occupies the same space. It is all a part of me and as long as I am aware that it is within my control to simply view my situations in an opposite light, I will find the peace inside me that I long for. I endeavor to share these struggles and inspiration with you so that you may find peace, too.

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Since I started blogging, I have somehow become a published writer–the first time by accident, and thereafter by sheer effort.

So far, I’ve written and had published . . .

• a full-page-spread nonfiction article in the national magazine, Parachutist (June 2015),
• a true short story in the book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and Miracles (2016),
• a true short story in the book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Kind (of) America (2017).
• and yet another true short story in the book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone (2017).

I constantly struggle with my desire to write about real life and with actually sharing those thoughts with others. It’s often difficult to do, but I hope I never give up on the quest.