I was a “watch me” kid… A video-my-own-tv-shows kid. (The joke is, “if you were a ‘watch me kid’, how’s therapy going?”…We’ll unpack that another time.)
My normal state is blasting every speedy thought and oversharing. I love mystery and yet have never been a very mysterious person.
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But this past year (since creating this Substack, actually) I’ve felt a change. I’ve grown in embracing slow-turning gears. Small groups. Secret work. It isn’t natural to my personality, but it’s good.
This week, I’m home from some birthday travels and am methodically turning the drafting gears on my new adult novel project again. Exploring is energizing, yet returning to consistent creative work still feels like crawling (and clawing). It’s an uncomfortable process as an external, expressive person who prefers binge-working when inspiration and impulse strikes.
Social media was a reliable friend for that. Youth was great for that. Hit publish on any hastily-written current thought. Talk talk talk. No patience necessary.
And that gets noisy. Social media has been described recently as a “hostile environment.” A place where your attention is often stolen without your consent.
And life keeps growing in complexity. Dreams get taller—with many cogs.
So the above poem is a journal < thing > I wrote to immortalize this tension. As more people create distance from social media and embrace analog life and private work, maybe you also feel the shift.
One day, I hope to have book things to share that might be worth your time. Until then, I’ll only pop in for little brief creative offerings like this.
“After I got through the door, I searched your house for metaphors. Found that book you used to live in, and a note fell on the floor. . .”
Someone Shared It.
Mel Robbins’ Morning Routine (or as I like to call it— Morning Order.)
It’s a routine that focuses more on the hierarchy in which you do things just as much as the things themselves. Self-help podcasts aren’t everyone’s thing, but this topic is pivotal to me.
Someone Said it.
“Luck is the residue of design. Be steadfast. The anvil outlasts the hammer.”
— Ethan Hawke, RULES FOR A KNIGHT
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Lovely, my friend
I relate deeply to this. Sometimes, some quiet is necessary before we go out into the world. That’s where I’m at too.
Also, your poem is fantastic; mind if I print it and hang it on the wall? I’d really like to read it often.