Are you living a life? Tell us about that. || light & letter pt. 7

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I don’t know who needs to read this, but you don’t have to have a string of prerequisites to make time to write (or insert any creative practice here).

You don’t have to have a “following” online. You don’t have to have 3 of your friends, your husband and your mother say you’re good at it. You don’t even need to think you’re good at it. You can write for no one or take pictures or paint terribly in a cheap art book you bought on Amazon.

You can just show up and do the thing.

You don't need to be childless in a coffee shop. You don't need to be well-traveled with a string of curated Instagram posts to prove it. You don't need three hours alone with your thoughts before inspiration strikes. You don't need the pristine house, humming with productivity--a hive of bees. You don't need to tread with precious footfalls through a forest at golden hour.

These are not sins—I enjoy them all—and having regular access to them undeniably has a positive effect on your creativity. But make no mistake, they aren’t needed 100% of the time in order for your creative work to take root and grow.

Truth be told, it’s easy to believe the only words worth writing are ones coming with ease and during uninterrupted hours spilling ink into a journal made from organic paper. Or worse, the only words worth sharing with the ones being sent out to thousands of readers (I’ve never had thousands of readers). None of this is required before you can create what moves a heart to leap with emotion, what brings the world to its knees—even if the only heart it moves and world it shakes is yours.

But then, your inner voice snarks, “Who am I to think I could be a writer? What do makes me someone worth listening to?”

First, I'll ask:

Can you open your eyes? Can you pay attention to the breath you're pulling into the orbit of your body right this second? Can you kneel--in heart and mind--throughout your day to gather the harvest of your hours close? Can you show up to participate in your own life, ready to answer honestly when asked, "What was that was like?".

Yes. Yes, you can.

To be clear, this doesn't mean your creative path is paved. In fact, it might be rougher. You'll need to keep trying when you don't feel like it (especially then). You'll need to be ruggedly intentional. You'll need to cozy up to failure and sit with it like a friend. You'll need to want growth more than comfort. You'll need to stop resenting the interruptions--which are only invitations in disguise. You'll need to have dirt under your fingernails from searching for the root of beauty where everyone else got bored looking for it. It's there for you to find, you just might need to dig harder than most.

Are you living a life? Tell us about that. You have everything you need.

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Hey you, thanks for reading this! I mean that.

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