A moment for gratitude

and a practice for all of us

Hello beautiful human,

After publishing Wednesday’s missive, I received this beautiful note in my inbox from reader, fellow creative and writer Christine (shared with permission):

Sarah,

I read almost nothing on my phone these days. Two expensive news subscriptions go virtually unused since late Nov 5. My unread emails are now close to 1000 though the email box is no longer clogged with political pleas and dire warnings.

But…I read your emails.

And this one. Today. Contains so much I needed to hear, wanted to hear, most especially the words below.

Thank you soooo much for “doing the work you want to do”!

(If you want to read “the words below,” here’s the link to that letter.)

Of course I did what any writer would do upon receiving such a note—got teary, got effusive in my gratitude to her, and said a quick prayer of thanks to the Universe for letting me know I’m on the right path.

Then, all in the same day, another dear friend and colleague from “the poetry days” (or should that be “daze”?) surprised me coming into the little pharmacy I work at. It was so good to see him, to exchange a few words and a hug. I felt like even though I went back to counting pills and wrestling with insurance companies, somewhere deep within, a corner of myself found a warm, soft robe and enjoyed a cup of tea by a large and quiet picture window for the rest of the afternoon.

And he, too, said to me before he left, “I read your words. Every time.”

Oh how it matters, for us to let artists, writers, creatives know when they are seen, heard, read, appreciated. When there’s a connection made.

I’m grateful and I’m honored and I’m a little emotional this morning, to be honest. And there’s something in all this I want to share that’s important for us creatives to remember and practice.

Nestled within An Inviting Space, this is a series where members explore ideas and notions, practices specific to creativity: what it is, how we grow it, and why we grow it. Every so often to share ideas on how we learn, all of us, to live in a more creative way locally and day by day. In future, I hope there will be more voices in this series, sharing their practices with us. Wisdom comes through the collective. If you’d like to collaborate, reach out and connect.