Finding signs in street trash
Oh, hi friends!
I was having a pretty garbage day last week.
Spinning thoughts: What am I doing? Where is my focus? Why can’t I trust my intuition?
And while I was walking home, I was itching for a sign. Looking in the eyes of strangers. Probably being a real creep! Feeling like I needed…something.
Then I saw a book, cover-side down, sitting on the curb. Actually, it was half in the gutter.
I picked it up. (Because I always pick up street books.)
It was The Alchemist.
I laughed! And then I kinda cried? There are 130 million books published in the world. Finding this one—which I read when I first moved to New York, and which struck a chord like nothing else ever has—was like being swaddled in the biggest, warmest blanket in the world. It said, You’re alright. Keep going.
So I guess the point is that on a good day, a bad day, or another random Monday, you should always keep asking for signs. You might even find them in the gutter.
“The more important a project is to the healthy evolution of your soul—the more Resistance you will feel to starting.”
Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art is a must-read for anyone fighting procrastination or mental battles when it comes to their creative work. His podcast mini-course also rocked my world.
I’ve been struggling with finishing two major projects. Part of me keeps saying, “Well, maybe you’re just not into them anymore, and it’s OK to move on!” But I know that’s a lie. The intense Resistance, as Pressfield calls it, is a signal that they’re too important not to finish.
Based on the life of the writer Lee Israel, Can You Ever Forgive Me? looks incredible—and whaddya know, it’s by two of my favorites: written by Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said) and directed by Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl). Sign me up! (h/t brother)
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara