A Looooooong Hiatus

It's been a while since I've been on here  ... like almost a full year.

I wished I could say there was some amazing reason...something truly exotic that has caused me to press pause on my writing.

Sadly, there hasn't been. I just haven't felt like it. Period.

I wonder if all artists have these seasons?  Surely that silence is part of the process, right?  Because I have been hounded and dogged and nagged and cajoled about my writing, and to be quite honest, I just haven't felt like it. I haven't felt like I've had anything to say ... or that it was important enough to any body to care to read ... or that anything I had to say had relevance. I. Just. Haven't. Felt. Like. It.

Until recently ... recently, I have had a myriad of things run through my mind, which, I suppose, is a sign that it's time to get back to the job of writing.

So, I pose this question?  Okay, more like a two questions....

• Do you feel respected? 
• And what does that look like? 

I feel like I am a pretty keen observer of the stuff around me, and most of the time, I can read a room well. However, when it comes to respect, I feel as though I just don't know what it means to be respected any more. 

Don't get me wrong. I KNOW the definition of respect. I guess what I am mulling over is the fact that I FEEL like our world is changing that definition into something that is a shell of its former self.  

Does that make sense?  I feel like I'm rambling.  Raise your hand if you are tracking with me. 

In terms of social media, respect appears to be the number of LIKES one gets as if those likes give you street cred or something. 

Respect is found in the number of times someone comments on a staged photo or how many times you get your "friends" to say some glorifying comment that paints you in a positive light. It's called giving love. But really? Is it love? 

If this is respect, then it seems to be an awful surface version of itself and not at all palatable, in my mind. Does no one crave anything deeper any more? 

Is respect paid to the hard worker that never toots his or her own horn??  Or is respect given to those that always look for the flashiest outcome, the best result? Is it given to the person that admits failure but has learned from those errors?  Or is it bestowed upon the one who is willing to "fudge the results" to paint themselves in a better light?

Is it just me?  Or does it sometimes feel like we are traveling a dirt path that leads to absolutely no where?  Or maybe it's just my View from the Deep End of the Pool ....