I want to share something with you – who, as a creative, a writer or someone who values the writing process in waking up – probably experiences the occasional concern about sharing your writing or sharing your experiences. Writers tend to experience a fair amount of angst. Either the angst gets us writing or the writing gives us angst.
I (mostly) gave up on angst some time ago. I prefer artistic equanimity – being okay with whatever is arising. But it took me time. That isn’t to say that sharing my work or insights doesn’t lead to nervousness now and then. You bet it does. But, dangit – that’s part of the journey – and it can be like rocket fuel to your own insights and understanding of true reality versus the storylines we develop about who we are and life.
The best piece of advice I received over the years came from the book “The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book” but at the time I didn’t know that! A mentor of mine paraphrased Rule #2: . Don’t take anything personally. She told me that it isn’t my business to worry about what others think – because that is a reflection of them, not of me. It’s brought a lot of comfort to me over the past few years.
The other side of that is that is to remember others don’t have to take what I express personally. Those two thoughts unwound a lot of mental junk for me. Play around with the dynamics of those two thoughts and see what they feel like for you. None of this makes any difference at all if it isn’t experimented with, played with, tested. That’s up to each of us and it’s part of the intimate experiences of art, creativity and wakefulness.
If you want to pick up “The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book“, I dropped my Amazon affiliate link here for you. Or simply grab a copy from the library and check out the beautiful wisdom Don Miguel Ruiz wrote about.
Have a great day,
Andrea www.mindfuljournal.net
