Being pressed under a huge weight (winter, leaves, air, etc.) forced random ugly bits of throwaway nonsense into black earth, capable of producing gorgeous beauty.
That's what I felt like. THat's what I want to cultivate inside myself. Especially after coming out of the pandemic. I thought I had things figured out. I thought I was doing pretty well, compared to others.
But no. I have lots of work to do on my interior world. On living a deep life, a compostable life, a rooted life.
Don't we all?
So I'm going to focus my words to you, my friends, to be less about what cool things to buy (which I have been doing more than I like) and more about how to cultivate a deep, creative life.
I hope you'll join me for this latest adventure.
As part of it, I'm going to continue to share stories and books and things that I find interesting. Hopefully though, they'll not only be interesting, but also useful. And inspiring.
I'm sure all of us could use a little extra inspiration these days.
1. Cal Newport talks about one man's intense need for focus, and how that came to life in a radical choice to move far away from New York City.
2. Did you know that the web's engineers make design decisions by humming? I didn't either.
3. Choosing your own dreams? Creepy or therapeutic? I vote for "never in my lifetime no way not in a million years"
4. An inspiring conversation between two Black intellectuals of completely different worldviews. My jaw still aches from the amount of time it spend in a dropped position.
5. My own conversation with a wonderful new author of a literary fantasy novel, The Lightkeeper, that you all MUST read.
6. My fairy tale retellings podcast, In a Certain Kingdom, is halfway through season 2. We're delving into Russian epic heroic poetry (I love this stuff!)
7. My book club recently finished reading The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth. If you haven't read it yet, you should. It's an important, challenging book. And while you're at it, check out Paul's recent substack, which is blowing my mind.
As always, I'm happy to hear your recommendations for new podcasts, movies and shows, and books.
But this time I'll ask you a more personal question. Is there anything you'd like me spend more time on in my newsletter or my youtube videos?
And thank you again for coming along with me on my writerly adventures!
~Nicky
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