Well, there will be no bells and whistles. No marching bands or giveaways. But I am quietly delighted to be celebrating the fifth anniversary of Lost in Arles, most certainly for one reason…you.
We have been through a lot together, n’est-ce pas? And yet time has passed within the blink of an eye.
I have been mulling a post over in my head for the past two months now. Its working title has been “Go Big or Go Home?” and this seemed the right time, a good a day as any, to talk it out.
Remi, my handsome, smart and funny companion, coaxed me into starting this blog. After a year full of confusion and heartbreak, it was a means to start building a pathway forward. “Be true to yourself,” he would remind me, especially when readers other than my immediate friends and family started to appear, much to my complete surprise. “Don’t try to please others.”
And so that is what I have tried to do – with the occasional wavering, it happens – in the over 600 posts so far. Slowly, you have arrived – one by one usually – and many of you have stayed. Some amazing bloggers were kind enough to talk about Lost in Arles very early on and that was an enormous help. Recently, I had a big influx of new readers, as two of my friends with very popular blogs were kind enough to mention me. Amazingly, it seems like I have lost most of them. Did that hurt? Kind of but it made me realize that just maybe this is a space that you need to randomly stumble upon and think, “What is this? I kind of like what she is doing…I just might belong here.”
As a blogger, there is massive pressure to constantly expand your readership and your presence in social media. “Don’t you want sponsors? Don’t you want a book deal?” (Um…oui?) At some point in 2013, I could feel the wave of what I was making here rising, that a wave was coming. There were a few people that I have an enormous amount of respect for who gave me concrete advice about what to do next – change platforms, build in SEOs, create a selling space, consider the possibility of controlled advertising, launch and keep updated accounts on Facebook, Twitter and the rest…it was all right there and very clear cut.
Except that I couldn’t do it.
I just didn’t have it in me to do this blog in my own way plus all of that too and so the wave rolled back out. My friends who have very successful blogs – some of who have built them up in the same or even less time than I have been writing and photographing here – can. They work incredibly, incredibly hard every day of the week. We are talking definitely beyond the realms of a full-time job. I love them precisely because they are so motivated and ambitious but I am not. I wonder if those years of acting auditions just sucked the drive out of me. It’s entirely possible.
But a slow pace can be a good thing too. I remember the exact day when I started to pick up my camera with an aim to do something beyond simply illustrating. Remi was in the midst of a long project of photographing the Romanesque churches of Provence, while using a complex technique that would at times require an hour to create each photo. How I would fidget and fuss amidst the pockets of too long until, out of nowhere, came the idea to start exploring on my own through the lens and not just with my always racing mind. And it became pretty clear to me immediately that what I was interested in most was to focus on the world of the little.
When we moved out of Arles over a year ago, Remi told me, “This will be great for your blog.” And how wrong I thought he was, for months. I really floundered, stumbling without the constant energy and sparks of city life to inspire me. I didn’t know what to say. Until finally, I gave up and let the little win. Because there is so much that is important within the minutiae of everyday.
Sometimes, the answers really are right there in front of us. Recently, I took an online personality test. It seemed smartly done and I was curious. Little did I know how illuminating it would be (for many aspects of my life). It turns out that my personality is extremely rare, an INFJ, what this site calls “The Advocate.” The traits assigned ring true – I have a high sense of idealism and a real need for integrity above all, qualities that I hope to use to help people that I care about. I need to have a purpose.
And what I have been wondering is, “Do I?” Is this blog with its incessant repetitions and variations on a theme, enough?
It took me a few weeks to find the answer, which is, “I think so…Maybe I am an Advocate for Beauty.” And oh, how I really hope that doesn’t sound as pretentious as I fear because guess what? You all are too.
Of the nearly 3,000 of you that follow along here through various sources, there are about twenty, maybe thirty who leave comments on a regular basis (merci!) and yet I feel like I know all of you and are connected to you somehow. Does that sound crazy? But it is true. And I have even been lucky enough to have met some of you in person or shared walks through Arles together – which only confirmed that suspicion one hundred percent.
Because we are of like minds and hearts. A little community but a really good one.
And while our advocating may not be anywhere near as far-reaching as what former INFJ’s such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Theresa brought to the world, a-hem, I still think that it is really needed in our demanding world.
It isn’t that I am determined to keep the blog from growing or that things will never change around here either but to answer my original question of “Go Big or Go Home?” Well, Lost in Arles may not be big, even after five years…but I certainly feel right at home.
Thank you, thank you for doing so much to make it so.
I am happy right where I am. I hope you are too.
With much Love and profound Gratitude from Provence,
Heather
Happy Anniversary, Heather! I love the way you craft your stories for this blog and create such a peaceful, insightful place to visit. Your photos are a beautiful extension of your delicately and well-chosen words and help to well and truly lift a bit of the curtain for a glimpse into your lovely little corner of the world. I am always happy to find your post pop into my reader list. Thank you for such a lovely, warm and inviting place to visit!
Oh my gosh Heather what a beautiful post in thoughts and photos.
The line that got to me was this one: "there is so much that is important within the minutiae of everyday."
You capture so much beauty in the simple things. Coming to your blog is a way to slow down and appreciate so much in life.
Congrats on your five years, and keep being your sensitive, lovely self. Sharing the beauty that surrounds you.
FlowerLady
You are SO an advocate for beauty. I have only recently been reading your blog on a consistent basis and there are some days when it just settles me after a crazy day. Keep on with what you are doing.
Thanks.
Hi Heather.
Congratulations on your blog anniversary.
Lost in Arles is all yours… You are in control of making it whatever you want it to be.
I had advertisements on my blog for about a minute… I realized that the amount of money I would receive from advertisers wasn't enough to make up for the changes the ads made to my blog. Not only did I feel obligated to write a blog post even when I didn't feel like I had anything to say, but I also felt that I had commercialized a very personal part of myself.
I found it helpful to sit down and really think about why I started my blog… I wanted to share what I have learned. I wanted to connect with people who saw the world as I see it…as a place where we can all succeed if we support each other. There are many definitions of success… I believe Lost in Arles is a wonderful and successful blog because of your honesty and your ability to connect with your readers…. all 3,000 of them! Imagine what a large crowd we would be if we were all in one room… Wow! I am honored to be one of your followers.
xo
Brooke
Ahhh I love this. You are an advocate in so many ways-for beauty, for love, for compassion, for puns–good and bad, for light, for dreams, for your partner, and I think more and more–for yourself. And that is what makes this such a special place. highly programmed and business blogs are a dime a dozen and most make about that much too. You don't need to rely on tropes like how tos and I'm An Authority, You're Not because you write and photograph to remind us nothing or no one is invisible and no detail is too small or insignificant to be appreciated.
Can you guess my MBTI? I've never agreed with it, but everyone else seems to.
Integrity in a deceptive and inauthentic world? The need for purpose beyond oneself in a sea of self-promotion? An ardent advocate for beauty, yet in such an elegant and quiet manner?
We are grateful for the rare vision and insights you provide through the pen and the lens, Heather. These are not "small" gifts, and nor do they come without a price. Those of us in this odd little (massive) online universe understand that truth.
The promise of the "big" is elusive. What is tangible — here and now — is indeed the beauty, thoughtfulness and perspective you grant us when you share yourself as you do.
Happy fifth.
xo
D
YOU GO SMALL and WE your FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS will be TRUE to our HEARTS and remain HERE with YOU and BEN and KIPLING……and REMI TOO!!!
I personally have LOST interest in the BLOGS that advertise……………………..I may still be hanging on but they are NOT what they WERE In the beginning.Also, I cannot STAND the PIN that comes over some of the photos that changes the color from light to dark and you canNOT see the PHOTO without moving the MOUSE around!!As odd as it seems that takes too much time!
Then there is the MUSIC which takes forEVER to load and SLOWS the whole reading process down!!!!!!!!!!
I'm talking about the music that comes on when you click on the BLOG not the inserts of music YOU do once in awhile.
3000 FOLLOWERS is A LOT to ME!!!
I do wish MORE would comment but look at the word COMMENT on MOST blogs…….it is minuscule.HARD TO FIND.Who is the designer here?A MAN in my opinion……………just saying.MAKE PLEASE COMMENT BIG AND BOLD at the END……..do not make us go through ADVERTISEMENTS to scroll down to find the COMMENTS!!!I was on a BLOG yesterday a BIG BLOG and she gets so few comments………like me and one other person cause I think the older ladies who read it think they are at the end!!!!Wouldn't YOU if you hit ADS at the bottom of an article?
FIVE YEARS……….seems longer to me.I said this last year.I think YOU were the second or Third Blog I FOLLOWED.I LOVED THE RED FORMAT TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MAYBE bring that BACK this year???!!!
You have ALWAYS been TRUE to yourself…………….and WE LOVE YOU FOR THAT.
I would say it's a KIR ROYAL night and PUT THAT CAFTAN on and SNAP a PHOTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XOXOXOXOXOXO
HUGS GALORE!
Keeping it real, staying true to your own voice and expressing it through your beautiful photography is what makes your blog so special Heather. Have enjoyed it for many years and look forward to the journey ahead. Congratulations Heather on five 'original' years. "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom"…and you do, a blessing for us all. xx
Congratulations on this milestone. You are a guide and an advocate in so many ways. You already know how I feel about you and this blog. I'm so glad we met and that while each of our journeys may be different, we are making them together. xxoo
P.S. Watch my Instagram account — I have a BIG journey ahead starting next week!
Heather I love your personal and authentic viewpoint. I have no interest in blogs that are too commercial and don't share something from the heart and/or mind. I read a lot of publications and don't need others to rehash them for me unless there is a unique and insightful connection. So – congrats – please continue keeping it real! Xx