Always, it's about the release

“I'd finally come to understand what it had been: a yearning for a way out, when actually what I had wanted to find was a way in.”
~ Cheryl Strayed

My newsletters have always been an outlet for my writing as an artist. Before moving to this platform, it was a fairly regular and somewhat irregular cycle of weekly and more sporadic issues, in which I shared my thoughts, insights, or moods in an opening letter before introducing the events, artwork, or classes I was promoting. 

With the advent of the shift in my teaching to the online realm, comes a confusing season of developing a new rhythm and new way of approaching my audience. And in the process found myself feeling less connected to the people who make the hard work of earning a living as an artist worthwhile. 

And so, in spite of the advice of well-meaning others, in trimming the emails to the basics, yesterday I could not resist returning to the more personal and connected feeling of writing a letter to you. You the reader. You the class participant, You the artist. 

I have plans to carve out more time to write with intention in the coming year. But I'm learning that the most important aspect of my writing includes staying connected to you. 

Here's the letter from yesterday's email. Just wanted to stop in today and say, I'm thinking of you.

As the temperatures begin to cool across the midwest, there is a settling in happening. Looking forward to the changing seasons, I find myself lingering over a steamy mug of coffee just a bit longer each morning, longing to return to the pace of a slowed down daily routine.

I've been operating in overdrive for much of the past year and I must admit, the pace has taken its toll on my well being. Still, I find it difficult to shift gears and slow down even when it is obvious it is what my body and mind needs. And even when the reality is the frenzied activity will not keep the sky from falling. How is it that we convince ourselves that we even have that kind of power?

Yes, I can do my deep breath work to slow the heart rate and relax the blood pressure, but the mind continues to seek an anchor. I find no peace until I remember that my body, not just my lungs, has been conditioned to be vigilant by the rush of activity. So I pick up needle and thread each night. As I stitch, my mind stills. My body relaxes into the steady rhythm in tempo with my hand. 

It is back to the basics. Back to the pull of creating for no other purpose than the sheer pleasure of it. Yes, with intent, I see this project I stitch becoming a part of a new body of work someday, but I release the need for it to be show worthy or award winning. Today I simply stitch and breathe. This is the way of it for me. My best work has never come from the pushing.

Always it is about the release. 

With so much love and gratitude, 

Crystal Marie