Smooth Seas and All That

Six weeks have passed since the last installment of this newsletter. I am a bit late (a week later than I typically post), but it is still September, and yet it feels like it has been a millennium since I last wrote. And each day feels like a year. Has it been that way for you?

For me, these day-years have required my full creative presence to problem-solve and sit with difficulty in life, work, and relationships. I am navigating and steering the ship through a squall. And while I have a good crew to assist with the efforts, I sometimes still feel alone. I am holding on to some things for dear life: words and sunrises, cloud patterns at sunset. Beauty is a balm.

I cling to aphorisms, mantras, proverbs, and poetry when I feel tempest-tossed and underwater. I am reminded:

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor [proverb of (likely) Swahili origin]

Perhaps I cling to these words out of naivety or sheer willpower to make it through difficult times, but we do what we must to survive our lives, right?

And still I find tiny moments of joy that buoy me. When the winds and waves calm for a bit, I pearl dive and find little treasures. Like sitting for a moment next to someone and being with them. Enjoying creamy iced lattes on a quiet, warm morning. Standing by a shady tree. Listening to the frenetic energy of adolescence. Enjoying the pop and crunch of a perfect blueberry. Writing for a spell.

One day, we may find ourselves as mermaids unfazed by the weather and motion of tides, able to linger at the bottomless depths for endless periods of time. Until then, find the thing that buoys you when the seas are not so smooth.

Be well,

🌊 Bridget