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Hey Raga-rootlings!
Yes I know, it has been way too long since the last update and much has changed! Between writing, editing, and university classes I have been crazy busy that the Artist’s Way posts have been a little postponed. I started week one and by the time week two started, I was hit with quizzes and midterms. Since then, I have just been waiting to pick it back up again and put a real effort into it. I’ve also been busy with the website and there have been major changes and upgrades to the page. I am pretty proud of how it is turning out. Alongside the changes, we also added a new picture of Yuru and Colby as turnips! With all the on-going stories I write, I hope that one day I can have a cluster of turnips from all the characters I hold dear.
In other news as well, I’ve been looking for a new place to live so with everything else I’ve been doing that has been added to the place as well. I am pretty excited about it since I’m moving from a small apartment to a house where I can have my own little office to write and study in without the worries of our neighbours and bothering my partner. So depending on how everything goes, I may have a few weeks where I am unable to post because of that turnover. Although, it’s not surprising that with how things are, tons of people have been relocating because of covid for several reasons. I am just hoping it will be not a stressful endeavour.
So one thing I wanted to share with you all about in this update today, has been just small things around the Artists Way and how personally my mental health has been. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a crazy dump load of emotions in which you all sit and grin through. It has been about just the impact journaling has been on me and how I am grateful for the stories I have been creating. Since restarting the morning pages, I’ve been finding a lot of areas of passion that had been lost to me or just forgotten under all the current events of life. I had started teaching English, learning about language and even now as I am in Japanese and Linguistics, it has just astounded me how much I’ve distracted myself from small pleasures. Two of them are how I love reading books or building a puzzle. I had been struggling with how to make one’s self on a date as it is suggested in the Artists way. We are to date one’s self as it were, and the first week I took myself out I realized how terrible of a date I was.
First off, with a pandemic there really isn’t much you can go and do since most places are closed due to restrictions. Second, I am shocked at how all my ideas of a date revolve around food. I had to write to myself several times about how just giving myself a food reward was not really spending time doing something for me. I had even chastised myself at how I bailed out and just say, “Well a small walk for ice cream is good enough right?” Wrong! I had been accustomed to undervaluing myself and being cheap that I couldn’t go on a nice date like going to the movies or a painting class because I didn’t understand how it would matter. I’ve been thinking about how it sucks being stuck in the house and that the pandemic isn’t the greatest time to try and court my inner romance, but there are so many things I want to do and could be doing for myself that I am pretty excited to get a chance to start it! All of this ties in together with the stories I have been creating as well, which I can’t wait to start sharing. Since I am reminding myself of all the small things I enjoy in life, it has elicited so many things from my creative being. I was stuck in a bit of a rut with writing and just sat and edited while wondering how to progress with any of my current stories. I have several months’ worth of sharing, but not a lot outside of that. I want to push myself, challenge and reach my goals yet I was muddied and burdened with so much worry and doubt.
This blog has been a saviour to me. Without the few readers who are following along and the support of my friends and family bolstering me along, I would be doing much worse. Artists’ way may be a challenge to do even without Covid, but these morning pages have been a solace to my isolation and pushing me to confront the storage space within myself. To sort and clear out boxes I put aside and forgot about and dusting out all the anxiety I’ve been collecting like a thin layer of dust. Of course, that is also normal and expected since that is what growing and learning is all about. So to end this entire rant and self epiphany, I am grateful for the Turnip patch and for you all who take the time to return and read what I have to offer. I can only hope that I am able to produce more in the upcoming months between moving and more midterms and I am making a personal goal to try and post more on Twitter.
As a final note, if you are having any troubles with isolation and Covid and would like to have someone to talk to, I am always here for those who wish to reach out. The Turnip patch has a discord on the website you can access to join those who also want to create, talk and even hang out. I am always here to talk and share support to those who need it and would love to have others join me in my journey with The Artist’s Way.
Until next week (or longer >.<),
Turan Turnip