What feels encouraging right now
Oh, hi friends!
I love seeing an old word with new eyes.
Yesterday I was thinking about the encouraging emails I received after the newsletter hiatus.
That’s exactly how they felt: encouraging.
And then the lightbulb moment.
They were giving me the courage to keep going.
Encouraging = courage. Somehow I hadn’t made this connection before??
But true encouragement — absent ulterior motives, baggage, and preconceptions — is so valuable.
Then I started to think about what feels encouraging.
And how to fill days with more encouragement, as much as possible.
Reading biographies feels encouraging to me. Watching Masterclasses and learning something new. Fixing something that’s broken. Conversations with people who are excited about something in their lives. Hearing stories about fresh starts. Taking time away from work and coming back with enthusiasm.
These all make me believe in possibility.
So what feels encouraging to you right now?
How can you pull more of that into your life?
Because all that encouragement — all that courage — is going to add up, and will help you step back into the world.
“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us."
Agree, disagree? The entire Franz Kafka quote is more intense, and thanks to Brass Ring reader Jean O. for connecting the dots between yesterday’s Yayoi Kusama quote and this one.
Calling All Cher Fans
My friend Angelica Frey wrote this wonderful Guardian piece last month and I loved and appreciated her take on Cher’s music as the soundtrack to the “imaginary movie” of her life. We all have those soundtracks — I wish we’d more often share them with each other.
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
You can also support my work by checking out my new motivational journal, Do It For Yourself, designed to guide you through your creative and work projects.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara