Dear friend,
Things are changing. For you, for me, and for the world. For me, I’m going to be 30 in April. I don’t feel like I’m getting old but it definitely feels like a big deal. With my twenties coming to an end and the rising sun of a new decade, I’ve made the decision to take something, one thing, seriously.
I’m a creative guy, a divergent thinker if you’re into your psychology terms. Which means I bounce around a lot, try lots of different things, often all at once. I get caught up in tangents, end up burning out, and then don’t do anything for a week. Anyway…
I’m getting better at balancing my interests, but that one thing needs to stick. I need something I can create consistently with, somewhere I can explore ideas, stories, and community. This publication is that place.
For you, I hope all is well, and if it isn’t I know it will be. In hard times I often think about the story of the sultan: Troubled by great change in his kingdom he asks a holy man to create a device that will alleviate his suffering. The holy man makes a ring and inscribes upon it the words “this too shall pass.” The sultan accepts his gift, and when he finds himself troubled he reads his ring and feels better, and when all is well he reads his ring and prepares for the inevitable turning of the wheel. If you are troubled in this strange time, then know, this too shall pass.
For you, in this newsletter, I will now publish regularly. I intend to deliver a letter to you at least once a week just like this one. It may be more, it may be less, but each letter will include something useful to you, especially if you’re creative. You can expect insights, stories, rants, and rambles on the creative life; the madness of it all, the ups and downs, the wins and the despair. I’m a creative type, you see, and on the journey I’ve noticed a few things, things that will no doubt be helpful to you on the path to reach your creative potential. I’m on that path, we might as well walk it together.
Essays on art and creativity will also feature from time to time. These will dive deep into creative psychology and philosophical Idealism (don’t worry, the philosophy will be helpful for your creative journey and not at all boring… I promise). You can read my first essay, The Virtue of Doubt, for a taste of what’s to come.
The final portion of this newsletter will be short stories. Like the essays I will publish them every so often. They won’t be scheduled like the letters, they’ll come when they’re ready. They’re my personal works of art. I can see the benefit of it, but I won’t put a deadline on them. Not yet.
That’s everything, I think. I hope we can create something better without obsessing over metrics and algorithms. A place where we can be inspired to express and create freely, not just in this publication, but in the world, out there.
Creativity lies at the foundation of the human endeavour — there is no progress without the search for the new and bold.
I hope you are well,
Talk soon,
Tom.
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Thanks, Charlie!
Outstanding news and congratulations. I hope you benefit from this pursuit as much as your readers are certain to—I'm lucky to be among them.