What’s True for Me This Week
The weekly column here that's a little chatty and personal so you can get to know me and my creative weird sometimes silly sometimes mundane little brain ...
Last week, I did a poll asking how frequently you’d like to see my chat roundups, and most of you said to continue weekly, so that’s what I’m going to do! Remember that you can opt out of different types of posts here on Create Me Free if this type of thing isn’t your jam. Learn more here.
HOLIDAY SPECIAL: For every five new annual subscribers that sign up between now and December 31, 2023, I will immediately become an annual Subscriber to another Substacker, magnifying your impact throughout this community.
November 21, 2023
What is true for me today is I have had the burger recently to meditatively doodle which I haven’t really done much at all and not in years so I’m enjoying that. I often play repetitive phone games while listening to podcasts as a way to quiet the mind and this feels better than that right now. I am relieved that I don’t have anything specifically required of me outside the house til maybe Sunday. So I have flexibility in my schedule despite many things I’d like to get accomplished and an open schedule really makes a huge difference for me.
November 24, 2023
What's true for me today is that I was about to say something else entirely when I noticed that in my last chat thread here what I wrote, or what it autocorrected to, was "I have had the burger lately to doodle" which is hilarious and made me laugh out loud. Of course what I had was the urge, not a burger. I know people sometimes get all uptight about typos but I actually find them totally delightful much of the time.
What's also true for me today is that today marks eleven months since the day that dad passed, and I'm not sure what I think or feel or want to say about that but I didn't want it to go unmentioned. I talked to my siblings yesterday; we try to talk monthly on or around the date. We've all changed and grown differently over the years but they remain my best friends. I am lucky to have them.
Yesterday for me was staying home to take care of the pup who is continuing to heal. The other pup felt like he wanted to be in my lap almost the whole day. He's always pretty cuddly but this was more than usual. Not sure what that was about but it was nice so we just curled up together for much of the day, napping and watching TV (Dexter, New Blood, which I'm not sure I even like but felt like watching if that makes any sense). I restarted my Duolingo Italian lessons. I created some quick collages. I did a little writing and a little cleaning.
November 25, 2023
What is true for me today is that I want to say I don't know how it can already be Saturday but also I really don't want to keep repeating over and over stuff about time passing and feeling so busy and all there is to do. One of the things that's always stuck with me from The Artist's Way is that in doing Morning Pages you eventually get so sick of yourself writing the same complaints over and over that you decide to make a shift. And therein lies the power. It does feel like my work life/writing life/school life have a lot going on right now and that feels hard and time consuming and my body just wants to go to sleep at 5 pm every day with the sun. That's true. But what's also true is that I am sick of hearing this from myself!
November 26, 2023
What is true for me today is that at 3am I heard my puppy wake up and start playing around the house like it was a party but I was too sleepy to get up ... so when I woke up this morning, I discovered that she had gotten into the (empty, clean) poop bags and essentially TP'd the house with them. Which could be annoying but actually made me laugh. She had so much fun just playing by herself in the middle of the night which always makes me think of babies in cribs singing to themselves or otherwise self-entertaining.
Also true is that yesterday I worked on a project for school and took a creative approach that ended up being really fun for me and it resulted in what might be a zine although I always have a terrible time figuring out how to actually print zines correctly so we'll see.
What's true for you today?
Check out these amazing writers:
Also true this week is that I was honored to feature interviews / guest posts from four awesome women here on Substack:
, , , and . Check them out if you haven’t yet had a chance and give them some support:Art and Mental Health Interview with Writer / Artist Helen Conway
Being creative to me means acting as I was created to be. It is a way to be in the world, a gift I can give. It is an active threshold between me and the darkness of depression. Making things is the making of me."
Art and Mental Health Interview with Writer Lauren Holt
"I am an anxious person who has struggled with decision-making. I think a big part of mental health is accepting oneself no matter where one is emotionally and psychologically."
Happiness is yellow: why neurodivergence can drive creativity - Guest Post by Allegra Chapman
"Telling stories, through whatever medium you choose, is a powerful way to help people imagine an alternative future or relate to an experience that you want to highlight. It can allow people within the mainstream to put themselves in the shoes of a marginalised or excluded person and see where the system has failed them. Stories and art get into our minds and souls in a way that facts and data never can."
Art and Mental Health Interview with Tamzin of Resurface
"To make art is to play with our own senses and emotions, and to connect with those of others. I believe that that’s the main drive to be creative; it connects us more deeply to ourselves and to others. "
Housekeeping:
Create Me Free exists because of paid subscriptions. Read what that means here.
On a really tight budget? Learn about my Pay What You Can option here.
Want to share your own responses to questions about the relationship between art and mental health? You can answer a visual interview here or answer in words here.
What's True for me today is that I decided to adopt your typo and use it for myself. So I have had the burger to start a daily journal - of my life a year to two years in the future! This is a law of attraction type of visualization writing - for those that don't believe in the woo woo, we will talk in a year or two and see what's what.
Thank you for the share! I love the care free way that you wrote and it made me feel like what I go through on the daily is important and it could inspire someone to do "the thing". Looking forward to poking around your Stacks for more inspiration.