When I read these words from Sean Tucker, they sounded like a Thanksgiving prayer.
That’s my abiding hope for you, and for me: that we learn to separate out our need for affirmation from the joy we derive from making. That we learn to love ourselves first, to deal with our pain well, and then make for the joy of making and perhaps bring a little Order to someone else’s Chaos.
I am thankful that I’ve learned to deal with my pain well. A big part of that healing I owe to my little sister, who will be 50 this month. Talking to her about our shared story has released me in ways I could never have imagined. I sat across the table from her in a coffee shop yesterday, and we talked non-stop. In her I see the parts of me that I love the most. I don’t have to hide any part of myself with her.
I read a little further in Sean’s chapter Attention . . .
What if the very best that happens is that your work touches the lives of a precious few, but that ends up giving you a deep and abiding sense of fulfillment? Well, that seems like a great way to spend a life.