reclaiming the act of sharing art

For weeks and weeks
maybe even months
I have been writing
but it has been
a different kind of writing,
different than a pen and a notebook,
different than poetry.

I have been writing a kind of writing
that requires a computer
the ability to use both of my hands
to write faster
to keep up with the dialogue and the story
pouring down from my head,
the kind of writing
where you can see word counts
at the bottom of the screen,
and pages and paragraphs
and can easily go back and make changes
if, realizing after a while,
thoughts have run off-kilter.

These weeks and months
have kept me writing
nearly every day
in joy, in creativity,
in imagination
and the wonder of seeing
my mind’s movies begin a life
on paper.

The trouble, though,
if chosen to be seen in such a way,
is the lure of my computer
and open Word document
call out to me with urgency greater
than my pen and notebook.

The pen and notebook
have remained in their spot
on the living room coffee table
beside the plant
and below the window
ready on the side stage
for a call that has faded away,
pages left empty.

I find myself in a confusing place
because the desire to write
and share the words I do
remains
in fact,
the desire grows stronger every day.
The dissonance lies
in the difficulty of sharing words
from a novel in-progress
and yet
having no other words written
seemingly better suited
to be shared with the world.

I feel a pull to absolve the dissonance
between the words I write
and the words I share.
Break my self-imposed rules
of what type of art belongs where.
Dissolve the criteria
of where art must be born
and rather, shift focus
to capturing the magical moments
themselves, as they are,
no matter the medium
or method.

Sharing art for the
simple, generous, vulnerable, beautiful,
act of doing so –
this is what I have lost
and what I want to reclaim.

mental health lifeboats

When you share an intention with someone else, usually, that carries with it an added layer of accountability. Now, not only have you given a voice to the thoughts traveling around inside your head, but the voice has landed upon the ears of other people. It’s not just you anymore.

But what do you do, when you want to change your mind?

You’re no longer the only person that knows. Other people know. What will they think of you, knowing that while you seemed so sure, so prepared just a little while ago, now you’ve retreated back to the timid and apprehensive version of yourself that believes they can handle the journey up this mountain on their own?

They might make you out to be a fraud. They might believe you are too scared to face whatever you think you need to face. They might think less of you, they might consider themselves to be superior to you. They may call you weak, or arrogant, or in over your head.

Or, they might just understand what you’re going through.

Only the people who have traveled a similar path can understand the terror, the uncertainty, the vulnerability, the bravery that comes with sharing your needs with someone other than yourself. It requires a new kind of strength.

Admitting that you need to talk to someone, admitting that you have reached a new point where you feel more fear than excitement for your future, admitting that you don’t know where to go on your own, admitting that you need help – these don’t make you any less than. In fact, they make you more than. Feeling uncertainty about your decision after you’ve ‘taken your stance’ is normal.

Use your knowing of others’ awareness of your current experience not as a rope tying you to an anchor, but as a rope connecting you to a lifeboat; available to you when you need some additional support.

You will be OK. You have a fleet of lifeboats ready and waiting to carry you to safety.

closer to heart

You can build up, create, in your mind,
what you believe to be the perfect way
to tell your story.
Down to the pauses, and tone of voice,
you can perfect it all.

Keep your truth, your excitement,
closer to heart than their reactions.