Five weeks ago, I started taking myself seriously as a writer. I mean, not only did I start honoring, rather than trying to hide (from God and myself) or apologizing for, the one thing I’ve wanted since June of 1990 (I was […]
Five weeks ago, I started taking myself seriously as a writer. I mean, not only did I start honoring, rather than trying to hide (from God and myself) or apologizing for, the one thing I’ve wanted since June of 1990 (I was born in the winter of ’86), but I took these terrifying concrete steps, like seeking mentoring and professional feedback also. This One Thing I’ve Always Wanted is to be a published writer creating things of significance. But I felt both that I was never good enough to do it and also, that it wouldn’t matter if I was. The world was falling to bits around me and I had the moral obligation (and the desire to actually continue living in it) to do something about it. Thus a gnashing internal struggle that has driven me nearly over the edge multiple times over the last quarter century. For those who don’t me well, it’s hard to convey how deep and injurious this war has been and so it will sound trite to say that it’s Finally Over. (more…)
I’ve not received such a specific blog topic request before: I’ve been invited to discuss this important, research-based infographic put out by the Northwestern online counseling center: Mental Health of Affluent Teens: The Challenge of Prosperity. I don’t have a lot of […]
I’ve not received such a specific blog topic request before: I’ve been invited to discuss this important, research-based infographic put out by the Northwestern online counseling center: Mental Health of Affluent Teens: The Challenge of Prosperity. I don’t have a lot of teens in my life at the moment but the information in this chart follows the contours of my own affluent past pretty well. (more…)
Definitely been struggling with the work/life balance thing. I’m tired, I don’t feel like I have anything new or special or insightful to say (so think about how much that must suck if you know that God has confirmed more times […]
Definitely been struggling with the work/life balance thing. I’m tired, I don’t feel like I have anything new or special or insightful to say (so think about how much that must suck if you know that God has confirmed more times than should be needed that you have the writing gift), and I’m more easily distracted than I’ve ever been in my life for some reason. My job is great – so good/such a fit, in fact, that I’m waiting for them to tell me this was all a joke. I’m not kidding – my anxiety seems to be turbo-charged lately, though it’s always been there. I’ve always been a “skinny anxious type” as an old friend used to call me. So I’m going to think and muse about that. (more…)
At 4 o’clock in the morning, all your stuff is monster-truck heavy and flashing-red important. Then, after the sun stops being polite – on days you get sun – and charges heavy like judgment into your room to rouse you, the existential weight of […]
At 4 o’clock in the morning, all your stuff is monster-truck heavy and flashing-red important. Then, after the sun stops being polite – on days you get sun – and charges heavy like judgment into your room to rouse you, the existential weight of your to-do list trades places with your limbs and amounts to a paper towel. Which has as much self-locomoting power as you do about now, anxiety having gulped down all your validate-your-existence energy for the tasks of phone calls, folding socks, scanning and digitizing old journals and bloodletting…er, writing. (more…)