Joy Ride Vol 8
Brainstorm Road’s Friday dose of fun, inspiration, and action
You should write a book.
That’s what people sometimes say as you recount a series of shocking and staggering and terrible life events.
We don’t love this advice.
Share your story, yes.
Tell trusted people about what happened and get support, yes.
But maybe instead of trying to write a book about it right now, you should paint a rock or stare at a sunset or go for a walk.
It is not required to package up our trauma as quickly as possible for the sake of a good story.
It is not necessary to process it as quickly as possible for the sake of public consumption.
Maybe you need not go headlong into preparing your trauma for public consumption right now.
Maybe instead you could find one small way to take care of you.
Worth Your Time
Listen: Cheryl Strayed on the relationship between parenting and creative work (and no she’s not going to tell you to “wake up at 4AM!”).
Read: Hide Your Dreams in Plain Sight. A short read on the simple pleasure of claiming your joy.
Empathize: Putting Creative Dreams on Hold about the heartbreak that is hitting pause on the things you want to do.
Learn: Andre 3000 talks to Rolling Stone about his own creative purgatory + why he hadn’t released an album since 2006
One Small Thing
There are seasons when we push ourselves. We go headlong after our dreams. We feel our lungs burn as we sprint.
There are seasons where we tend to ourselves. We fall down. We get the wind knocked out of us and so we need to attend to ourselves. We find a bench to sit down and catch our breath. We sit and sip a cool glass of water.
In both seasons, you – the real live human being – are there. You are not a machine. There is more to your life than production and optimization.
It sounds soft, almost too touchy feel-y, but we’re going to ask the question anyway: Whatever season you’re in, what is one small kindness you can offer yourself this week?
To those of you who wanted to join Brainstorm Road, but for a million reasons it wasn’t the right time - we’ll be taking new members again in early 2024. So stay subscribed here and we’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, bend toward the light.✨
Happy Friday,
Margo + Kristin
I bend toward the light each day.
This is brilliant. As someone once said to me, there are two types of bikers in this world, those who have had an accident and those who will have an accident. Everyone will experience trauma at some point, the variable is when. If you have already, pace yourself, it's a long game that will change daily as you go forward. If you haven't, are you ready? Ready with all of the self care behaviors that will determine whether you grow or shrink?