Back to the Basics
Reflections on the one year blog anniversary (and reopening paid subscriptions)
TL:DR — Building a life based on the question “what is enough”. Scroll down to the bottom section titled “Back to the Basics” to read the outline of changes for the coming season.
Somewhere on the interwebs, I read a post about Finland winning the status of happiest country on earth for the 8th year straight. The author of the post talked about how the average Finlander would not claim the state of happiness as their daily frame of mind, but that it was more about feeling content. That the status quo earning Finlanders the title of “happiest” was in being able to identify what was enough and not ascribing to the capitalistic mindset of always striving for more, more, more.
I spent some time searching for that post so I could credit the author and share a link with you here, but alas, my morning was filled with reading and I cannot remember who wrote it. It might have been a newspaper or magazine article for that matter, so forgive me for the paraphrasing.
Nonetheless, I’ve been pondering their words, which mirrored my own heart’s desire. This idea of identifying “enough” as the goal for my life; the thing I am talking about when I report to you that I am in the process of shifting to a more sustainable way of life and needing to build better margins around my time.
But what is enough?
This time every year, since moving into my current home, I have to ask myself some form of this question before signing the lease renewal agreement for the next year. In three of the past four years, the renewal notice from the landlord has come with a rate increase and this year’s was steep comparatively.
In the land of social media we humans tend to share our successes and hide the day to day minutiae that make up a life. Even if you post a little more authentically about the not so glamorous stuff, these are merely windows through which others can peek.
When we don’t have the full story, we tend to fill in the blanks with our own deductive reasoning. In her book Rising Strong, Dr. Brené Brown writes “in the absence of data, we will always make up stories. It’s how we are wired.” She goes on to say that this is part of the brains primitive survival mechanism.
It never fails to startle me when I encounter someone who has a skewed version of who I am or how I’m doing based on what they see of me online. We look through these windows of each other’s lives and we deduce the rest based on our own perspective.
Reflecting on this question didn’t begin with the article I read about Finland today. I’ve been contemplating it over the past few months. Somehow in my gut level intuition, I knew this years rent hike would be steep. I’ve been perusing various property sites, considering my options.
On paper it seems like a no-brainer. Pack it up and move to a more affordable place. Problem solved. But add in all the variables and it’s not so simple. I’m asking myself through the process, questions about what I want and what I need. How much of my struggles over the past year were a result of the burnout I hit after a series of personal challenges? How will this current season I’m in of restructuring my offerings with better clarity over my own needs and abilities help to regain the equilibrium in my work/home life?
What is enough?
The timing of considering whether to renew my lease coinciding with the anniversary of this blog, while I’m also in the midst of restructuring what I do for a living and how I do it, is not lost on me.
Identifying what is enough isn’t about accepting that you have enough. It isn’t about self-sacrifice, living minimally, and denial of real needs. Nor is it striving, self-indulgence, and expensive vacations. It isn’t solely about finances and physical needs at all. It is identifying what you as an individual define as enough to be content and that includes the goals you set that inspire you.
What do you want and need to live a life of contentment?
Which brings me back to how we perceive each other’s lives when viewed through the lens of social media, because the flip side of that coin is how we view our own lives in comparison.
That trap of comparison, ah yes, an entire chapter of which I intend to devote to writing about in the book. Like how we feel good about the art we’ve made until we check our instagram feed and see someone else creating in the same style or using the same medium and feel deflated because their work is “better”.
Whether we place ourselves beneath and beat ourselves up for not being good enough, or place ourselves above, believing our work (or life) is better, it is the same trap. When we are driven by comparison, we are operating from the lies of the inner-critic and not from our authentic core. That core place inside knows what the “enough” is that we need, but it so easily gets pushed aside when measured against someone else’s ideas of what it means to achieve.
What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
In identifying what is my enough, and setting my goals accordingly, I’m reminded of these words. (I dare you to read them out loud to yourself.)
Thank you Mary Oliver for defining it all so succinctly:
I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Enough to me is written in these lines, taking care of the demands of the day without robbing myself of the time to pay attention.
These are the margins of life in which I seek.
Back to the Basics
Today marks the one year anniversary of the blog, which was started with the intent of giving me the place to document the life of a working artist and writer, while also writing my next book; Recovering Your Intuitive Voice: An Artist’s Guide to Silencing the Inner Critic.
As noted in my previous post, I’ve gained some clarity over the three distinct areas of my career as a working artist, writer, and teacher. I’ll outline some of it here, including the changes to the paid subscribers benefits.
Artist: This is an umbrella term that encompasses everything I do, so it was the toughest to identify as far as my goals and specific needs are concerned. I’ll share more in another post at some point on this, but looking back at my Instagram page, I can easily see that the last three years I’ve devoted more of my time and attention to teaching and writing then I have to my own art making and the coming season will be designed for a better balance in that. — More to come on what that looks like for me in a later post.
Writer: I’ve revised my about page a bit, which you can read here, describing how I’ve always known I was a writer.
When I started the blog with paid subscription tiers, I offered exclusive monthly excerpts from the new book as I write it to paid members. Later, Substack rolled out their video feature and I decided to add previously recorded video conversations from past workshops to the incentives, and from there I decided to add monthly writing prompts.
Starting today I’ve resumed the paid subscriber tier, but the incentive for members will be back to the basics, with a new payment structure:Monthly subscription at the paid tier is now $5 per month (if you are an existing paid subscriber, this change should be reflected on your next billing cycle).
Exclusive excerpts of the new book as I write it. These will be posted approximately once a month with the intent of at least 10 posts a year, allowing for the ability to step back during busier seasons when needed.
Monthly excerpts from my first book The Art of Expressive Collage, which was published by North Light Books in 2015, now under the umbrella of Penguin Random House and no longer available in print form. Writing that book planted the seed for the ideas that have become the book I am writing today.
Prompts on these posts to reflect on in the comments section or in your own journal time.
Teacher: Restructuring the offerings on my teaching platform, Canary Rising, and implementing changes I plan to make for teaching online and in person will roll out in stages.
The first stage is currently underway with the decision to close registrations on the six immersive courses that were offered as the Deeper series in 2022.I am proud of these courses and they are a heckuva deal even at full price for the hours of tutorials, scope of technique, and concepts detailed in each course. If you are a bargain hunter, I have confidence that you’ll appreciate this offering.
No code needed, discounted price is reflected at checkout. Go here for details and purchase options.
