Time enough

for the next adventure

Photo by Arvin Mogheyse on Unsplash

Worms squirm in my belly and wriggle up into my throat. They knot and coil, tightening into a lump as I stare at the blinking cursor. I try to find words that don’t taste awkward in my mouth, that won’t sour my stomach as I swallow them down.

I feel a little sick. I open a new tab and close it again. I draft a sentence and delete it. Draft another. Delete that too.

I know the language. It is everywhere.

Act now don’t wait only a few left clock’s ticking don’t miss your chance get it before it’s gone…

I do not want to press on a bruise or manufacture a lack. I do not want to create urgency where none exists or suggest that you need something you do not need. I do not want to stand in the middle of the room jangling my work like loose change, waiting for applause.

And because this is the language I see everywhere, I find myself not knowing how to speak at all.

The cursor blinks and the worms twist through their endless conundrum.

It’s not about the money…

I would rather give my art away than contort my brain into knots trying to offer it for sale without feeling as though I’m selling out.

As soon as my thoughts stray from where will the adventure lead next to what should I make that someone might buy, my insides rebel.

And so I remind myself: it’s not about the money.

I write, I draw, I create for joy alone. I follow the thread of curiosity wherever it leads, for its own sake.

And yet, I still dream. I still hope. I still wish for more time, more space, more days to draw, to write, to create.

Money may not be the reason, but it does matter.

Because it is time.

Another moment of creative freedom. A doorway to the next adventure.

And so to the worms I return.

Perhaps there is another language, different words, that are neither persuasion nor performance, but invitation.

I wrote this, I drew this, I made this — and I love it. I am sharing it because I think you might love it too. Maybe enough to want it in your home, in your life, in your hands.

The knots loosen and the worms settle…

With wishes for endless inspiration,

If you would like to support this creative adventure, you can buy a handmade gift from my Etsy Shop, Ink and Oddments, or upgrade to a paying subscription and get access to the Creative Adventurer’s Gallery.

For anyone choosing an annual paid subscription I would also love to send you an art print from my collection, as a thank you for gifting my creativity another moment of freedom to explore and create.