Laying Bricks

Between a busy long weekend out of town for my partner Alicia’s first marathon, the preparations for and celebrations of Canadian Thanksgiving, and a stack of half-baked Whimsies that weren’t calling to me for completion, I didn’t want to write.

However, back in July I made a promise to myself, and to you: 

That I’d publish two Whimsies per week, which is a promise I’m unwilling to break.

So here I am, painfully pressing fingers to keys while bed and book beckon sweetly (and Yuki runs amok trilling and attacking her toys like the sweet little lunatic that is).

I’m fortunate that for the most part, writing comes easily to me. To lean on a quote that may or may not come from Hemingway, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” For me, such a vein is rarely far away.

But there are times when writing feels like trying to find a vein on a snowman.

Nigh impossible. Horrendously difficult. Painfully pointless.

These are the moments where I’m reminded of writing’s importance (to me). 

For I could easily convince myself that breaking the promise I made to myself and you would be fine. The world wouldn’t end. You may not notice if my Monday (or sometimes Tuesday, like this week) Whimsie never arrived in your inbox. You might not even care.

But writing isn’t something I want to step away from ever again. I don’t like what happens or who I become when I’m not writing, not creating. Which means that when the difficult days arrive, I must keep searching for the vein to prick. 

The act of self-trust is as important the act of creation.

Today—or rather, late last night—the vein I found was a reminder of a promise made.

As I let my pen lead me forward towards new projects, keeping promises made—to myself, to you, to new audiences, to mentors, to friends and family—will be key.

So every chance to practise that act of respect must be taken. For solid, reliable, trustworthy foundations can only be laid brick by brick here, brick by brick there.

And now having shared the struggle behind this Whimsie and the reason for glueing myself to my laptop until I had something coherent, I shall consider this brick laid.

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander