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Well, it happened. After all this time successfully dodging Covid, it came and got me. I’m on Day 11 of this nonsense, coughing like crazy, but finally seeing the light. I think.
I’m a terrible sick person. Really bad. It’s hard for me to just…stop. To be still, rest, and let my body do its thing to heal. I get tired of reading, bored of Netflix, annoyed with social media, carried away by my overactive brain.
I remember learning that a tendency towards depression can be rooted in a focus on the past, whereas anxiety is future-focused. I’m definitely the latter. As I’ve been laid out on the couch, just trying to live, my mind is on overdrive about art I want to make, trips I want to take, things I want to do.
It reminds of a newsletter I sent recently, Dreaming is form of planning. I still think that’s true, but I also wonder if doing isn’t a form of planning, and perhaps my preferred mode, and also why I’ve been feeling anxious in this Covid downtime.
Last week an artist-friend posted this.
It’s true that so much of creativity lives in the shadows: experimentation, exploration, research, reading, making mistakes, self-care, relationships, experiencing new things, etc. etc..
That book you hold in your hand? It’s years and years of all of that. No one sits in a room and writes a book. I mean, they do, but they couldn’t do that without all the ingredients that make up a big, juicy life to write about in the first place!
And it makes me rest just a little bit easier if I can sink into the belief that everything I do and experience: from brushing my teeth, to vacuuming the rug, to having Covid, contributes to my future plans and everything I dream to do and be.
Can it be true?
Poet Mary Oliver said Poetry isn’t a profession, it’s a way of life. It's an empty basket; you put your life into it and make something out of that. So too with writing a book or building an app or really just loving others and being in the world with intention and purpose.
All of life is a creative act. What’s your empty basket?
+ ART FOR CHRISTMAS
Prints in my store are now $50. They are all limited runs and once they’re, they’re gone. Who doesn’t love getting art for Christmas?
+ HEY LOCALS
I have teamed up with another local art maker, Sarah Shay Mirk, for a zine swap. We will be demoing how to make a zine and probably drinking beer. Thanks to Vortex for the sweet graphic. See you there?
+ JUST FOR FUN
A creative medium that's actually alive? Yes, bacteria art is a thing. Check out this episode of NPR’s Short Wave. Life is art is life - literally.
Have a great weekend.
Jump + Pray,
Joce
Instagram + Twitter + Website + Prints!
Email : joce@misslujo.com or reply to this email
Mailing Address : 509 N Ventura Street, Ojai, CA, 93023
What's your empty basket?
I fill my empty basket with cookies and coffee and hope for the best :)