We All Need

Hello friends,

Thank you for being here today!

While on one of my regular walks through the various neighborhoods of Portland Oregon, I noticed a yellow street sign with a black arrow pointing out a direction. Just past the pointed tip of the arrow, someone had slapped a sticker that read “Help.”

I smiled, and snapped a photo, like I do. Why? Because it was a great reminder that we all need help sometimes. But how often do we ask for it? And how often do we offer help, in turn? Is it easier for you to offer or ask for help, by the way? Do you know why?

This reminded me of a process post I wrote for my Patreon supporters back in March. In it, I wrote about an eye issue I’m having—detached vitreous fluid—that is interacting with my brain injury and increasing my process load, scattering my brain and slowing me down. I posted it on my website this morning.

How do I remain creative and keep working when life, or health, or random things seemingly conspire to get in the way? I rely on the stability of my inner practice. I listen to my body, energy levels, and notice whether my brain is too tired to work. I meditate. I rest. I read. I go for walks. I work for one hour. I work for five hours.

In other words, I pace myself. Luckily, I’ve always been a person who uses sprints to run a marathon. I can get through five things on a to-do list in the course of a few hours. If my brain and body are both in decent condition.

I recently broke out my Pomodoro clock for business tasks again. I’m back to needing a timer, and that’s okay.

I talk about a lot of things in that essay, and I invite you to read here: On Process When Things Go Wrong

But, though I speak about the help I get from my practices, I realize I never spoke about asking others for help! Which I’ve certainly had to do. My partner drove me to an emergency ophthalmology appointment and dealt with things as I spent the day in a dark room, pupils dilated. I got help in other ways, as well. Sometimes that help is simple: explaining to people why I can’t do the thing they expected of me, and may not be able to for several months, and allowing them to offer me some grace.

And we can all do that for each other, can’t we?

In what ways are you keeping going? And in what ways are you offering yourself and others grace?

Wishing you well — Thorn

My colleague Mark Leslie-Lefevbre interviewed me about creativity, business, and mindset on his Stark Reflections podcast! I really enjoyed the conversation. You might too.