it’s always so interesting to compare the way we see ourselves with the way others see us, and that’s extended as writers: no one will ever read our work the way we read it! to me, you are one of the kindest, warmest, most loving people i know, someone who feels inherently safe, someone with an open heart and open arms. your writing has always felt the same; your stories could only be written by someone with deep empathy and the capacity to hold space for the many different versions of a person. i always look forward to seeing what you do next 💕
Yes! And I guess how could they read our work the way we do--they don't know all the behind the scenes contemplation, deliberation, and dreaming that went into it. You're such an angel with this comment. Thank you <3 Your friendship, love, and close, careful reading mean so much to me. I like how I look through your eyes. Always looking forward to what you do next too :') would love to exchange some pages soon!
1. love the idea of your writing self and spiritual self meeting; i have a feeling they will not only be friendly to one another but might fall in love with each other!!!!
2. don't get me started on the pleasure of organizing phone photos. VIRGO RISINGS rise up!!!!!!!!!!!
Lindsey.... you are a very talented writer & I very much enjoy the way you string words together. You'll finish your novel someday and it will be brilliant!
I think about this a lot - about being a much less interesting version of myself once I am healed/recovered from my insanity/ego. and i relate so much to the idea of self-love being really cringe. it makes me ill. I do think that letting in the softness allows for more all-around expansion which ultimately only allows for deeper, more expansive writing. but why is it so scary?! i think it's really wrapped up in ego and self-protection and the only way through that is writing with vulnerable openness like you have here <3
thank so much for this. yes, totally relate to the self-protection piece. Idk if you're into IFS/parts work but it's so interesting to consider what the different parts of myself are trying to protect with their defenses. And it's sooo lame to realize that my ~tortured~ part is trying to protect me from not being seen as "cool" lol like is that really what all this suffering is for?? that's why I won't love myself, bc I want to be cool??? like ok, lol. I'm going to keep in mind what you said about softness leading to expansiveness. I hope so <3
This piece is beautiful and full of heart. And I still found a few of your lines pretty funny (when you mentioned how people crave reading about tormented parasocial relationships and descents into drunken madness, I laughed out loud.) I think that writing about any topic (whether it’s battling insecurity or the concept of spiritual awareness) is an act of love, because making art is about creation which requires love for all that is good, true and beautiful in this life. Definitely I can relate to feeling like the self love talk is a bit cringe. I think part of the cringe is the way self love has been packaged up into trite consumerist platitudes that ultimately feel meaningless. Yet it’s absolutely truthful that people ought to be kinder to themselves and kinder to each other. Idk how to explain that, but I think your writing here describes the importance of love beautifully. Don’t worry about passing stuff down, because you sound like a kind hearted and good natured person. Thank you for writing about this thorny topic of love, both spiritually and in the act of writing.
Thank you so much for this, Jessica. "because making art is about creation which requires love for all that is good, true and beautiful in this life." I love that so much. You've inspired me to think about my writing through the framework of "creation." That does somehow make the whole thing feel more sacred. And thank you for the reassurance that I won't pass down too many evil tendencies to my future child, lol <3
I relate to this so much, and it’s something I wrestled with until a couple days ago when I decided that I’d rather be happy than interesting or admired by others.
It's kind of weirdly hard to tease those two things apart--I think I am still working on letting go of my belief that being interesting/admired by others is the thing that leads to happiness/fulfillment. thanks for reading <3
This is dripping with a refreshing sincerity. There was a period of years where I was meditating everyday and journaling--going full bore towards spiritual practices. It kind of petered out and I haven't noticed much of a difference without it. This post made me go down a rabbit hole and get back into exploring those practices.
it’s always so interesting to compare the way we see ourselves with the way others see us, and that’s extended as writers: no one will ever read our work the way we read it! to me, you are one of the kindest, warmest, most loving people i know, someone who feels inherently safe, someone with an open heart and open arms. your writing has always felt the same; your stories could only be written by someone with deep empathy and the capacity to hold space for the many different versions of a person. i always look forward to seeing what you do next 💕
Yes! And I guess how could they read our work the way we do--they don't know all the behind the scenes contemplation, deliberation, and dreaming that went into it. You're such an angel with this comment. Thank you <3 Your friendship, love, and close, careful reading mean so much to me. I like how I look through your eyes. Always looking forward to what you do next too :') would love to exchange some pages soon!
1. love the idea of your writing self and spiritual self meeting; i have a feeling they will not only be friendly to one another but might fall in love with each other!!!!
2. don't get me started on the pleasure of organizing phone photos. VIRGO RISINGS rise up!!!!!!!!!!!
why am I crying!! Thank you Erika <3
Lindsey.... you are a very talented writer & I very much enjoy the way you string words together. You'll finish your novel someday and it will be brilliant!
Thank you so much for reading Julie, this is so so kind <3 <3
I think about this a lot - about being a much less interesting version of myself once I am healed/recovered from my insanity/ego. and i relate so much to the idea of self-love being really cringe. it makes me ill. I do think that letting in the softness allows for more all-around expansion which ultimately only allows for deeper, more expansive writing. but why is it so scary?! i think it's really wrapped up in ego and self-protection and the only way through that is writing with vulnerable openness like you have here <3
thank so much for this. yes, totally relate to the self-protection piece. Idk if you're into IFS/parts work but it's so interesting to consider what the different parts of myself are trying to protect with their defenses. And it's sooo lame to realize that my ~tortured~ part is trying to protect me from not being seen as "cool" lol like is that really what all this suffering is for?? that's why I won't love myself, bc I want to be cool??? like ok, lol. I'm going to keep in mind what you said about softness leading to expansiveness. I hope so <3
i am very into IFS!! i think we must be doing all the same therapy...
This piece is beautiful and full of heart. And I still found a few of your lines pretty funny (when you mentioned how people crave reading about tormented parasocial relationships and descents into drunken madness, I laughed out loud.) I think that writing about any topic (whether it’s battling insecurity or the concept of spiritual awareness) is an act of love, because making art is about creation which requires love for all that is good, true and beautiful in this life. Definitely I can relate to feeling like the self love talk is a bit cringe. I think part of the cringe is the way self love has been packaged up into trite consumerist platitudes that ultimately feel meaningless. Yet it’s absolutely truthful that people ought to be kinder to themselves and kinder to each other. Idk how to explain that, but I think your writing here describes the importance of love beautifully. Don’t worry about passing stuff down, because you sound like a kind hearted and good natured person. Thank you for writing about this thorny topic of love, both spiritually and in the act of writing.
Thank you so much for this, Jessica. "because making art is about creation which requires love for all that is good, true and beautiful in this life." I love that so much. You've inspired me to think about my writing through the framework of "creation." That does somehow make the whole thing feel more sacred. And thank you for the reassurance that I won't pass down too many evil tendencies to my future child, lol <3
This is so beautiful i almost cried. And a topic i relate to. I wish you good luck for your future ❤️🤗
:') thank you so much vivi, right back at you <3
I relate to this so much, and it’s something I wrestled with until a couple days ago when I decided that I’d rather be happy than interesting or admired by others.
It's kind of weirdly hard to tease those two things apart--I think I am still working on letting go of my belief that being interesting/admired by others is the thing that leads to happiness/fulfillment. thanks for reading <3
wow, i totally relate, thank you for writing this! <3
thank you for reading! <33
This is dripping with a refreshing sincerity. There was a period of years where I was meditating everyday and journaling--going full bore towards spiritual practices. It kind of petered out and I haven't noticed much of a difference without it. This post made me go down a rabbit hole and get back into exploring those practices.