Pretty much anytime between 2009 and 2015, if you asked me what I’d been reading lately, my answer would have been:
“Not much.”
Occasionally I’d read a great book, but really, I wasn’t reading that much. I didn’t have an appetite to consume content – even to watch TV or movies.
In hindsight, I can see what was happening. I was in a long period of creating, not consuming – a time where the primary energy was about bringing forth what was inside me. In part, I think because my creative self had been locked up for so long, there was a lot to bring out.
Hundreds of blog posts, one poetry book, and one nonfiction book later, my energies are shifting.
I’m in that glorious transition period between one body of work and the next. I feel lucky to be experiencing it as glorious. What can be hard about a transition period is the not knowing what’s next, and the fears about aimlessness or lack or productivity that can come up. But without those fears or narratives, which thankfully haven’t come up much for me this time around, the transition period can become a time for reflecting, absorbing new ideas, doing fascinating research, and exploring directions in a light, low commitment way.
It is also a time of spaciousness – making space to receive ideas and inspiration. Wandering down the street is a form of working, and simply paying attention to the life and stories in front of me is a form of working, too.
Since I’m consuming more content these days, you can expect to see me sharing more of the highlights with you. I’ll be sharing what I find especially moving and illuminating – gems I think you’ll love and be helped by, too.
Here are a few:
This rich essay, “Growing Together” by Thich Nhat Hanh. Partly about relationships, partly about everything.
This essay by Dani Shapiro – on writing, creativity, and life. It’s so calm and still that reading it is like moving into a deeper space, a meditative moment. Her insights are so illuminating, too.
This surprising study, published in Harvard Business Review, about the long-term career effects of taking an entrepreneurial path. (Spoiler alert: happy findings!)
Sending love to you today,
Tara
P.S. BAY AREA FOLKS: I’m speaking at Woven World on March 5th in San Francisco and would love to have you join us!
Tara so appreciate you recommending the essay, “Growing Together.” It’s poped up in a few of my circles and deeply spoke to me. For me it is about relationships and our most important relationship to ourselves. thank you for inspiring me always. Sending all best, Jamie