So this has been an amazing week for me. Hubby is home and he and the little girl and I have been enjoying the ease of being together. We get up, we eat, we play, we run errands, we play, we nap…ah if only every day could be like this!
Yesterday I went to a dear friend’s house for tea and conversation and left feeling so inspired! (Thanks Andrea!) We had such a nice chat about living your life based on the creative and how (and if) that can provide for you materially in this world.
I left with some fantastic ideas about my latest projects and what I felt was a fantastic piece of advice: Let your readers see your struggles.
Ah, there is a piece of advice worth sitting with! I mean afterall, isn’t it much nicer to share things all wrapped up in a pretty bow? A roadmap that says “Hey this is how to get here from there.” Then I thought of the blogs I love to read. The ones that when I need a creative lift or need to hear that someone is in a similar place as me that I turn to.
The blogs I can get lost in for hours. Not simply because of all their contact but because I feel that I am experiencing a part of someone’s life.
So I sat with this. I sat with the project I have written about but not really shared about. I thought about how it would look to be so open with your struggles to share so much of yourself and your path.
Then I wondered if I could do it. I mean, my friends may read this blog. What if this carefully orchestrated facade that we all work so hard to create would come tumbling down? To be honest it scared me.
That’s when I knew I had to do it.
So I will share with you my latest project-again, but not just my Big Beautiful Dreams but also my Wholly Crap Fears and the I Have No Idea What I am Doing thoughts.
If it speaks to you I am inviting you on the journey of my poetry e-book. My untitled ebook. The book that I have dreams of being accompanied by fantastic art that I see in my head but am unable to create myself-but I am going to try. The book that will be sharing my poetry, some written for the book, some already completed but all of it honest and open. Allowing me to share my words in a way that I haven’t done before.
If you would like to join in my journey we will meet here every week and I will post updates. Many times they will be “Didn’t do a Damn Thing This Week” other times it may be sharing some art work that you might just wonder if my 1 year did it-but I pledge to write it and keep it real, honest and above all-candid.
If it speaks to you and you would like to sign up for my newsletter please do-I will email my weekly updates and also special sneak peaks. For now, I would like to leave you with a poem that may or may not be in the book:
I see you here and I have decided
that you shall live in box named “A”
but a box none-the-less
others similar to you
and together you will get to see
the part of me that’s only “A”
exactly where you need not know
I keep another box I happily mark “B”
who know not your side of me
and together they live happy and sound
knowing only the part of me that’s “B”
are boxes of all kinds
that house the parts of my life that work together well
and see what’s inside
there would not be a box large enough
for me to hide inside
Wonderful post. Wonderful poem. Thank you for sharing.
Sharing struggles does make us vulnerable but oh so real and oh so connected. The mix of dreams and struggles (the journey) leads to exciting creative results with surprises along the way. I look forward to more!
"Let your readers see your struggles" The power of story is one we tend to forget in our busy, modern lives. When we were tribes, that's how we connected, learned, and grew. And we can return to those roots easily – we just have to tell our stories as they unfold. Wrapping up everything in a nice package expecting others to learn from our teaching is good, but it's not great (or actually helpful). Having others live along with us helps them to see their own struggles in new lights, to find someone to commiserate with, to grow through connection. And that's a beautiful thing.
Hi Michele – I can totally understand the desire to only share the "pretty" parts of building a business.
I want to be completely transparent and open about what's really going on at any given time… but at the same time, I'm kind of terrified that if I write about every frustration and hiccup, I'll start to sound like I'm whining and just bringing people down with my blog 🙁
But yet I think that the blogs I enjoy reading the most are the ones where people tell me about what's real for them. So that means the times when they're having difficulties and irritations, as well as the triumphs and wins – but they also tell me what they're doing (or what they tried) to overcome those issues. I think that that, for me, is the key to navigating the path between a "real" blog that's also inspiring and uplifting – so that's what I want to start aiming for myself.
And yes, absolutely, I'd love to join you for your journey, and I look forward to reading your updates!
Woodland Rose-thank you so much for the inspiration to right this blog and your advice! I look forward to sharing my work with you and enjoy yours! Happy New Years!
Ellie you are so right! I love the idea of sharing and growing together! Thanks for the comment!
Thank you Tanja! I appreciate your comments and your honesty! Have a very Happy New Year!