I’m Back. (Another Personal Note)

I’m back. It feels like I’ve been away for a while.

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

I’m back. It feels like I’ve been away for a while.

I’ve been writing a lot in this time, but sharing it elsewhere. Or sometimes, not sharing it at all. Working out what I do and don’t want to share.

I’ve realised that sharing my writing is healthiest for me when I focus more on act than outcome.

Or, read differently (pardon the pun), when I share without care for the response I receive.

If people like it, great. If people tell me that, of course it’s nice to hear. Of course I want people to find comfort and meaning in my words. Of course I want to be impactful and ‘valuable’ to others.

But that shouldn’t be my priority.

It feels ironic, actually — that posting about vulnerability and authenticity can all too easily become yet another means through which we lambast ourselves for not being [good] enough, albeit perhaps a higher stakes one because, shock horror, we’ve actually revealed ourselves.

Or parts of ourselves that we wouldn’t usually share, at least.

Thi…