One Step
April is National Poetry Month, and it’s been a while since I’ve written one, so I figured I’d better sneak it in before May takes over.
Before we get to that, though, I wanted to let you know that I’m giving a free creativity workshop called Permission to Play on Sunday, May 5, and I’ll be repeating it on Saturday, May 11.
It’s easy for adults to forget that it’s okay to play, and that lack of play can keep us stuck! Join us for approximately 90 minutes and reconnect with your playful inner kid.
Both sessions will be at 1pm Eastern Time (New York time, if that’s easier). Everyone is welcome, whether you have an existing creative practice or not. All you need is yourself, a pen or pencil, and some paper, though you’re welcome to bring materials for a quick drawing/doodle/etc. if you like.
If you’d like to join us—and I hope you will!—sign up here:
Please share this info with a friend!
The shortest route from stuck to started is a single step. That first step is always the hardest. We all know it. It's a cliché. But we avoid it anyway because it scares us. What lies ahead? We don't know. Not knowing terrifies us. We forget what might lie on the other side of uncertainty: laughter joy curiosity adventure wonder becoming the person we've always wanted to be. It's easy to stay where we are. It's easy to convince ourselves that we're happy with the status quo. Even when we're not. Because starting is hard. Leaping is hard. Trying that thing we've always wanted to do is hard. What if we fall? What if we fail? If we fall we get back up. If we fail we try again smarter this time. What if we never try? Never trying means never knowing. Never finding out just who we could be. Never trusting the part of us that knows where we're going even if the rest of us has no idea. So: Do you want to know? Do you want to see? Are you willing to trade a little safety for a little adventure? To see who you really are?
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
—John Shedd