I have been thinking about starting a Substack for awhile now, but keep thinking of reasons why I shouldn’t, why it’s not the right time, or why I don’t have the perfect thing to say or I don’t have the right name for my substack or….
A few days ago, when I was doing my daily writing practice, I wrote KEEP GOING at the end, several times, and I started to wonder how many times I’ve used that phrase in a journal. I know it frequently shows up in my written journaling, but it often becomes the focal phrase on art journal pages as well.
It’s a nice all-purpose mantra—KEEP GOING can apply to so many different ways of being. If you are on a path, keep going, don’t stop. If you aren’t even on the path yet, keep going until you find the right path. If you are in the messy middle, KEEP GOING. If all you want to do is go back to bed, KEEP GOING and crawl under those covers. Keep being a human.
I also think about Big Magic from Elizabeth Gilbert—or any others who have written on creativity and what they have learned over the years about what it takes to be a creative person in this world. The thing I think of most is simply that you have to keep showing up. At the keyboard, in your chair, at the easel, at the sewing machine, at the page, wherever and whatever it takes. Some days, just the showing up is enough. Other day, when you show up, something magical will happen. And I think part of the reason that we are so addicted to continuing to show up is because of those time that we do get the magic (flow, inspiration, whatever you want to call it…is it just a dopamine rush? Maybe, but it’s worth it, isn’t it?)
This post is actually an example of just that—I’ve just written four paragraphs on an idea that has sort of been flowing around in my head, but I haven’t let myself just show up to this screen to see what might come out. Today I did and I’m quite pleased so far. Is it perfect? Of course not. Does it need editing? Always. (Even editors need an editor…). The real trick is to KEEP GOING. To not let it end here. To edit and then post this and then to write another post. And then to KEEP GOING.
If you decide to subscribe to see what I’m going to keep going on about in the future—I’m guessing it will have a lot to do with being a creative person who can’t decide what to be interested in on any given day. Mixed media art journaling, quilting, knitting, embroidery, books, my family, art history, and probably my cats.
(OK, fine, there will definitely be cats. If that’s a problem, I don’t know what to tell you).
I too have a multitude of things on the fire. Sometimes it feels hard to choose which direction to go in! Today I'll be finishing a sewing project for my daughter. Bought the fabric for her birthday in December, going to see her at the end of the week...Also, cats!