Showing Up when I'd Rather Hide

Embracing Creativity and Visibility

I've been wanting to explore Substack for quite some time. I love my website and don't want to desert it completely, but I'd like something less formal and a bit more transient, like my feelings and interests. I want a place to honour and enjoy the randomness of my monkey mind.

Today is an uncomfortable day. An election result I don’t like and can’t understand. I’d like to say I don’t know what to do with myself, but actually I do. Show up. Be brave. Be creative. Even when it’s hard. So today I am taking this step onto the Substack playground and inviting you to join me there.

Here’s the deal: as I’ve revived my old website and blog, I have realised that I come alive when I write, even when the writing is stressful. When I’m not writing (which is all too often), a part of me goes to sleep and I drift away. Today I’m committing to putting my head above the parapet by learning to share myself more openly. For me that means I need to relax a little, be a little less controlling and obsessive, and maybe learn to let go and play with my own words.

I know from my sewing days that the creative process is messy. Threads strewn everywhere, piles of fabric to choose from, odd post-it notes for sketches and calculations… the mess itself gives rise to new ideas. I’ve spent my life longing for one-pointed attention, but it’s simply not who I am. I want to write about foghorns and pilgrimage and other cool or curious or scratchy things that catch my interest in this wild world. I am giving myself permission to be imperfect and even wrong, so long as I show up.

How often can you expect me here? No promises, but hopefully often, at least weekly. I’ll be turning 70 in a few months - as an ageing creative, I have no time to waste!

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