Two Weeks In

Up, up and away, daily trying to figure out what to say.

What kind of daily creative practice do you have and how has that changed your life?

Two weeks ago I committed to writing everyday and posting whatever I create on my website blog. I’m happy to report it’s going well and is even surprisingly exciting. It may be early to share any results, but I have started to realize some things.

The value of daily creative practice - Reminds me of the routine of an Austin artist who has been on my podcast, Austin Art Talk. Charles Heppner puts a priority on painting and writing every day. It seems consistency is important if you want to make progress and defy the blocked times of doubt and fear. Here is something I wrote about him at the time of his interview. “Years of making work along with daily creative discipline and a journaling practice have given him the confidence to ask better questions to explore through his art and at the same time not be attached to finding an answer. Give up control and follow your heart.”

Letting go - Feels similar in a way to morning pages which is one of the tasks in The Artist’s Way that I have always liked. You just do it, ideally without much judgment, and in the case of my blog, publish it and move on. It’s just not possible to spend time tweaking and editing each post indefinitely. This has been very hard for me because I want every post to be as good as possible. Even down to how it visually looks on the page, sometimes putting a lot of effort into tweaking all the elements very minutely. Just keep moving forward!

Clarifying and expanding my thoughts and connections - It’s easy to have an idea or see a connection in your head and leave it at that. Taking the time to write and share about it in a way that makes sense can be a lot of work. For me, there is sometimes resistance to putting in that effort. Most of the time it ends up being worth every minute. 

The compounding interest of creation - I’d like to think when you create consistently over a long period of time that it adds up to something greater and can foster new opportunities. You discipline yourself to do the work and once it’s out in the world who knows what might happen or who might see it. I feel very optimistic about that aspect of this challenge.  

Writing is fun - Language and words are just so interesting to work with and craft. Expressing a theory, sharing a story, or just writing a poem. It’s something I am liking more than I anticipated and that is a very good thing when you need to do it every day. 

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Weekly Letter Of Gratitude

Pictured below is my great aunt Marian and her neighbor Buttons along with an excerpt from my letter to her.

“As I am sure you know, you are one of my favorite people on this planet and have been my whole life. I wanted to send this extra letter to make sure you know how much you mean to me.

You have been a wonderful example to me of someone with integrity and deep caring for others. Someone who does the right thing, who shares a lot of joy and laughter, and who also won’t hesitate to address and talk about real things and be their authentic self.”

One of my fondest memories is an experience in NYC sitting close to the front row of a Van Halen concert at Madison Square Garden. The tickets were a gift for a woman I was dating at the time, who was a super fan, and we danced the whole concert. Hearing about Eddie’s passing reminded me of that experience and then I came across this article on Inc.com.

Click the article link below and have a read. It’s a short but powerful lesson.

The Passing of Eddie Van Halen Reveals an Uncomfortable Truth About the Power of Praise - INc.com

“If someone you don’t know made a real difference in your life, don’t wait. Track them down and tell them. Especially if you think you someday might regret never having done so.”

— Jeff Haden, Contributing editor, Inc.

Reading what Jeff Haden wrote was the last straw for me to commit to another writing goal. One that I have been considering ever since I sent my great aunt a letter this year for her 95th birthday. Normally I would visit her in PA. but that was not possible this year. It felt like I needed to really tell her how important she is to me and why. She was very moved and it made me consider why I didn’t send more letters like that to all of the other people I appreciate. There’s a whole range of individuals to consider who impact my life. All the way from the person that stocks the shelves at the grocery who I don’t know, to my most cherished friends and family. Some of the letters might not get read or maybe the person is already gone, but I still think it’s a beneficial practice.

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My commitment is to write and share one letter every week to a new person. Want to join me? If you try it let me know how it goes.

Into The Unknown With Optimism

Are you feeling a new urge to create or have you recently made a big transition in your life? Maybe you are considering one? 

It has been a year of upheavals. Subjectively it seems that all this tumult has shifted much of the world and our lives to extremes, inspiring for good or for worse, challenges to change and prioritize. 

Within the last 6 months, I have personally had a growing desire to work on becoming a better writer and to start sharing more consistently about my thoughts, life, curiosity, and work.  Jeremy Enns, a podcaster and writer I recently started following shared in an interview that he had the same desire, and in January and decided to 365 Day Blog Post Challenge. I’ve chosen, as of today, to do the same. He also travels year-round, is a curator of content in the same way I desire, and seems to prioritize gratitude in his life. All things that I also want to do and that are important to me. So here we go!

Here is a list of some of the types of posts I will be creating every day. 

• Quotes, thoughts, reactions, and reviews of books I’m reading or have read this year. I’m already up to over 100 books in the last 5 months. Mostly audiobooks. It’s been wonderful to have the time and drive to do so.

• Anything else that I come across in my life that I think could add value to my readers. I’m a very curious person so there is no telling what I might find and be inspired to share.

• I’m a photographer so I’ll be sharing any new work as well as revisiting images and series from the past and telling relevant or interesting stories about that work. I especially like promoting what others are doing and what I have learned.

• New podcast episodes from my shows and podcasts from other creators that I find enriching.

• One of my goals is to have discussions and get feedback. I’ll be sharing questions and thoughts I’m having that might be good to get opinions about and to collectively discuss and seek out solutions and ideas. I want to learn from you!

• Experiences I am having in my life including plans, ideas, people, thoughts, discussions, and of course inspiration.

• In the near future, I hope to be doing a lot more traveling, once it’s possible and appropriate. Many adventures to be had!

To keep up with all of this, I will occasionally send out a summary. Share your email and sign up for it below.

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