Having COVID over the holiday period has put me behind on everything and I'm just now reading this inspiring and 100% relatable post. I so admire what you've achieved, Joyce, and I'm sure you are equal to whatever dreams are bubbling up. I've been searching around to find out what you revealed as your next big adventure but couldn't find it. Have you shared yet? Please do, and all on here will want to support you, I'm sure.
Also, the post coming out Wednesday is a real start as I tell the beginning of the story. I've been tiptoeing into the river and think it just said, "enough of this shit, either dive in or sit on the bank." @Mason Curry this morning offered a mantra: “You are choosing unsatisfaction for a while.” Life is definitely an adventure.
If it makes your heart pound and leap and dance with excitement, if the idea of it enlivens you, then you have already made a contract with the Universe and all you have to do is ask for help because none of us can do it alone and the Universe will give you the help you need. This describes exactly how each of us shoot ourselves in the foot about our dreams and how quickly we forget to go with the pitter-pattering dancing heart, and take that first step - which you are doing.
Fear is just excitement forgetting to breathe. We'll be cheering you on!
I don't know you well but already I believe in you and your words help us believe in ourselves - so thanks for the uplift! Your courage is contagious, in a good way.
I feel like you just set free my Grinch ... the courage part of me just expanded 10X. And reminded me of the power of our words ... I'm putting yours in a special place to read again when courage fails ... as it often does. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.
Didn’t someone once say, “Don’t confuse fear with exhilaration” or something like that? Respect the fear for wanting to protect you. Go with the exhilaration because that’s where life gets interesting. 😉
I regret missing is post almost 2 days ago. I can hear your self-chastizing turmoil and want to support you - my curios, creative friend. I was pleased to see others (below) who offered encouraging comments. Thanks all.
Now your Adventure is posted & that is another discussion altogether.
I do not want to pass thru your Valley of the Shadow of Self Doubt
without acknowledging the pain and limitations we often impose on ourselves measured against an arbitrary level of expertise, accomplishment, or our own right to our expression.
comparing myself to writers published in major magazines and journals is an exercise in self-defeat. My head knows that ... somehow the links to the other parts of me seem to have missed the message. Thanks for your thoughts, always!
or not editing too much... because the spark that makes your fingers dance and your heart skip, is the same spark that inspires others and gets us feeling excited for you (and for ourselves) too - after all, you invited us along on the adventure!
I love that picture of the beautiful demon full of pathos- of self doubt and imposter syndrome or whatever other FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real. Did you make it? That demon looks sad to me - and afraid. A sort of coyote spirit - we can all relate to that! Makes me want to invite it in for a nice cuppa tea and a cookie warm from the oven! When you posted your adventure, the excitement about the rightness of it is palpable in both you and your readers.
I collect quotes and your comment intrigues me so much that I just added it to my quote file so it doesn't get lost.
I'm curious. Will the author always be "Beedledee Beedledum"? It's interesting to feel the oddness of talking to a person behind an obvious pseudonym. It's like missing a label or admiring a flower without knowing its name. I'm curious as to why.
I picked that name when I first signed on to substack. I was thinking of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland - a kind of satiric take on what is happening in the world I guess; there are no 'sides' really - it's all one and the same coin. I write and do art some, and like making connections and see the absurd in a lot of overly serious stuff that is trivial, when instead of fighting over trifles, we ought to be seeking commonalities and laughing more at the diversions so we can do meaningful works. Maybe it's unfair to hide behind a pseudonym? But I have to say, as one who has always used my name, it feels kind of liberating. I'm glad to tell you in a private message though, if you want a name to go with me. You have also helped me realize that I was getting lost in all the gloom and doom - things are pretty dire all over the world - and I got lost in the weeds, but then I stumbled upon your substack and now I know I need inspiration to be able to handle whatever is happening and what is to come. This is why I love your substack - it's not a lot of 'toxic positivity." It's true inspiration. So thanks. And... one doesn't have to know the name of a flower to admire it. You can make up a name for it or just admire the 'is-ness' of it and smell it and study the petals. I'm trying to get away from naming because as a gardener I know all kinds of plant names, but what strikes me is the being-ness of the plant. It's just language - one is with words, one is with some other more visceral part. I hope that makes sense!
PS Thank you for your Solstice gift. The words and images you displayed acknowledge a year's worth of light, as well as your own life`s light, beautifully shared.
Looking forward to hearing about the adventure, Joyce!
A small advice/thought, since you asked, the world needs more of us to ask for what we need and give what we have to share. It seems the best way to tap into the abundance we, as a whole, seem rather good at squelching.
Holly, thanks for that reminder ... my mind seems to understand that, the other part is having difficulty with it. ;-) It could be that this adventure that I really want to do will open the door to asking for the help that I'm going to need to do it. best to you.
Right?! Wisdom--the chicken and the egg theory. One of my favorite ways of confronting fear around things I want to do but feel fear around is the go-to-sleep method. If I'm contemplating a new venture and I find my brain or emotions going down a path of self-doubt--listing all the reasons I shouldn't or couldn't or am not worthy or not well resourced enough or whatever, I tell that part of me, Thanks, love. Then I try very hard not to think about it again until I've slept for a good eight hours.
Adventure, play, escapade... any framing that shuts down the goal-obsessed, WIIFM thinking mind. And if someone asks you why you are doing it, just say that it wants to come alive through you and that you don't know why... yet.
Oh, Tom ... that is a wonderful thing to remember .. I'm going to write it on a card and put it on my mirror ... "It's a story that wants to come alive through me and I don't know why ... yet!" That is way perfect.
Having COVID over the holiday period has put me behind on everything and I'm just now reading this inspiring and 100% relatable post. I so admire what you've achieved, Joyce, and I'm sure you are equal to whatever dreams are bubbling up. I've been searching around to find out what you revealed as your next big adventure but couldn't find it. Have you shared yet? Please do, and all on here will want to support you, I'm sure.
Thanks, Kathy, for your confidence. Being somewhat still reticent, I buried the lead in this post: https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/we-talk-about-the-imposter-syndrome
Also, the post coming out Wednesday is a real start as I tell the beginning of the story. I've been tiptoeing into the river and think it just said, "enough of this shit, either dive in or sit on the bank." @Mason Curry this morning offered a mantra: “You are choosing unsatisfaction for a while.” Life is definitely an adventure.
Yes - freedom is the aim. I love your substack because it doesn't put people into small little boxes. It allows for and encourages expansion.
I so hope so.
If it makes your heart pound and leap and dance with excitement, if the idea of it enlivens you, then you have already made a contract with the Universe and all you have to do is ask for help because none of us can do it alone and the Universe will give you the help you need. This describes exactly how each of us shoot ourselves in the foot about our dreams and how quickly we forget to go with the pitter-pattering dancing heart, and take that first step - which you are doing.
Fear is just excitement forgetting to breathe. We'll be cheering you on!
Your words are like wings. Thank you!
I don't know you well but already I believe in you and your words help us believe in ourselves - so thanks for the uplift! Your courage is contagious, in a good way.
I feel like you just set free my Grinch ... the courage part of me just expanded 10X. And reminded me of the power of our words ... I'm putting yours in a special place to read again when courage fails ... as it often does. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.
Does it help if you hear just one more time that - "You're not alone in this?"
Immensely!!!
Didn’t someone once say, “Don’t confuse fear with exhilaration” or something like that? Respect the fear for wanting to protect you. Go with the exhilaration because that’s where life gets interesting. 😉
Such words of wisdom Louise!
Thanks, Louise ... The longer I live, the more life seems like a "both/and" adventure.
I regret missing is post almost 2 days ago. I can hear your self-chastizing turmoil and want to support you - my curios, creative friend. I was pleased to see others (below) who offered encouraging comments. Thanks all.
Now your Adventure is posted & that is another discussion altogether.
I do not want to pass thru your Valley of the Shadow of Self Doubt
without acknowledging the pain and limitations we often impose on ourselves measured against an arbitrary level of expertise, accomplishment, or our own right to our expression.
comparing myself to writers published in major magazines and journals is an exercise in self-defeat. My head knows that ... somehow the links to the other parts of me seem to have missed the message. Thanks for your thoughts, always!
Writing a post can be like that, I often sit and let my fingers dance over the keyboard and see what I end up with
That's my favorite style of writing ... usually makes for a lot of editing afterwards, however.
or not editing too much... because the spark that makes your fingers dance and your heart skip, is the same spark that inspires others and gets us feeling excited for you (and for ourselves) too - after all, you invited us along on the adventure!
I love that picture of the beautiful demon full of pathos- of self doubt and imposter syndrome or whatever other FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real. Did you make it? That demon looks sad to me - and afraid. A sort of coyote spirit - we can all relate to that! Makes me want to invite it in for a nice cuppa tea and a cookie warm from the oven! When you posted your adventure, the excitement about the rightness of it is palpable in both you and your readers.
Thank you so much. To me, the monster seems to be trying to be scary but ... as you say, just seems a little sad. Monster tea party ... ;-).
Scary often hides sadness underneath it.
I collect quotes and your comment intrigues me so much that I just added it to my quote file so it doesn't get lost.
I'm curious. Will the author always be "Beedledee Beedledum"? It's interesting to feel the oddness of talking to a person behind an obvious pseudonym. It's like missing a label or admiring a flower without knowing its name. I'm curious as to why.
I picked that name when I first signed on to substack. I was thinking of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland - a kind of satiric take on what is happening in the world I guess; there are no 'sides' really - it's all one and the same coin. I write and do art some, and like making connections and see the absurd in a lot of overly serious stuff that is trivial, when instead of fighting over trifles, we ought to be seeking commonalities and laughing more at the diversions so we can do meaningful works. Maybe it's unfair to hide behind a pseudonym? But I have to say, as one who has always used my name, it feels kind of liberating. I'm glad to tell you in a private message though, if you want a name to go with me. You have also helped me realize that I was getting lost in all the gloom and doom - things are pretty dire all over the world - and I got lost in the weeds, but then I stumbled upon your substack and now I know I need inspiration to be able to handle whatever is happening and what is to come. This is why I love your substack - it's not a lot of 'toxic positivity." It's true inspiration. So thanks. And... one doesn't have to know the name of a flower to admire it. You can make up a name for it or just admire the 'is-ness' of it and smell it and study the petals. I'm trying to get away from naming because as a gardener I know all kinds of plant names, but what strikes me is the being-ness of the plant. It's just language - one is with words, one is with some other more visceral part. I hope that makes sense!
PS Thank you for your Solstice gift. The words and images you displayed acknowledge a year's worth of light, as well as your own life`s light, beautifully shared.
Looking forward to hearing about the adventure, Joyce!
A small advice/thought, since you asked, the world needs more of us to ask for what we need and give what we have to share. It seems the best way to tap into the abundance we, as a whole, seem rather good at squelching.
Holly, thanks for that reminder ... my mind seems to understand that, the other part is having difficulty with it. ;-) It could be that this adventure that I really want to do will open the door to asking for the help that I'm going to need to do it. best to you.
Right?! Wisdom--the chicken and the egg theory. One of my favorite ways of confronting fear around things I want to do but feel fear around is the go-to-sleep method. If I'm contemplating a new venture and I find my brain or emotions going down a path of self-doubt--listing all the reasons I shouldn't or couldn't or am not worthy or not well resourced enough or whatever, I tell that part of me, Thanks, love. Then I try very hard not to think about it again until I've slept for a good eight hours.
Best to you, too!
Great plan!
Thanks, Russell ... your writings have helped keep the flow open.
I see wonderful things happening for you. Keeping the flow open, and seeing what comes...this sounds like the state you're in. A good place to be.
I'm pretty sure it's coming ... and if you want a hint, here's some backstory ... https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/wonder-women
Adventure, play, escapade... any framing that shuts down the goal-obsessed, WIIFM thinking mind. And if someone asks you why you are doing it, just say that it wants to come alive through you and that you don't know why... yet.
Oh, Tom ... that is a wonderful thing to remember .. I'm going to write it on a card and put it on my mirror ... "It's a story that wants to come alive through me and I don't know why ... yet!" That is way perfect.
Yes! Great idea “Adventure” can’t wait for you to unravel it. Also the “Demon” is gorgeous - great color and form - good blend of textures
Thanks, Gail! Glad you like Demon ... he makes me laugh at my fears.
I love it, Joyce. I can't wait to hear about the ADVENTURE! 💜 Let's share it on Notes!! I'll be the second to restack it.
Thanks, Sue ... knowing you're there helps. I've backed off of this several times already. If you don't see a post tomorrow, yell at me. ;-)
Better yet, I'll ask you on Notes where it is :)