I miss blogging of old. The community, the articles, the sharing, the overall goodwill of information. Now that social media is burning out and eating itself, blogging is making a comeback of sorts. Substack is the platform that's leading the way. It encourages users to build newsletter subscribers - and make some ££ doing so - but that won't work for everyone. I've been exploring it recently, just getting a feel for it, and trying to decide what I want to write and share. I haven't got very far, but Substack does have two ways of posting. 'Notes', which are like your standard social media musings, but can be quite long form if you want. 'Posts', are more considered articles or essays, which get sent to your subscribers' inbox, if you have anyone signed up to what you're selling. Anyway, I've enjoyed the mix of info and variety of topics. Here are some of my recent 'Notes' over the last week or so. If you're on Substack, you'll find me here.
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This week I met a friend who I hadn’t seen since just before Covid, nearly five years ago. As we casually caught up over lunch, it was like we had only seen each other last week. And then today I randomly bumped into a friend who I hadn’t seen in 10 years, and we were catching up like no time had passed at all. Why do we click with certain people? No fuss, no pretence, just naturally being ourselves, and genuinely interested in what’s going on with each other’s lives. Yet we can let time pass, and not be part of the day-to-day (or years-to-years) until the next time our paths cross. Magically, some friends are like that. No need for a constant presence. Instead, a consistent appreciation and understanding of who they are, where they are, and how they’ll react to seeing you. Nice.
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I started journalling in June 2023, giving the Artist’s Way a go, not really thinking I’d connect with it, but now find myself totally attached to the process, surprising myself with not only how much I needed it but how much I discovered through it, even though a lot of it is dull reportage of my days, helping me sift through to the emotional gold that occasionally sparkles through the drudge.
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Cliché isn’t bland. Cliché can be innovative and life-changing. It’s something that’s described as ‘overused and lacking original thought’. But it occurred to me that there’s great lessons to be found in classic cliché expressions, if we decide to embrace the sentiments behind them. ‘Eat well and exercise’. Such a cliché tenet of life but, if done at even the most basic level, can enhance and transform our wellbeing greatly. ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’. A plea for empathy and withholding judgement; a helpful reminder in the ever-expanding social media landscape. ‘Actions speak louder than words’. Timeless wisdom about integrity and follow-through, relevant in relationships and leadership. Hmm, should I start a Substack blog when there’s so many of them? Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but (perhaps!) better late than never.
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There’s a neat irony to ‘the more experienced you get, the less you know’. The cockiness of youth gives way to certain setbacks, as well as cool learning curveballs that defy the norms of well-trodden advice. You get to a level where you know (or you hope) your base effort contains quality, but everything is still wide open for criticism, feedback, change and - especially - rejection. William Goldman once said ‘nobody knows anything’. Well, you can still know a lot, but it might not mean much once it’s put up against the heat of the creative coalface. And so it goes…
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