Simply Sunday - Abecedary

Affirmations, a new "alphabet" episode, Illustrate Your Week prompts, and more

“First thing every morning before you arise, say out loud, ‘I believe,’ three times.” —Ovid

Good morning and happy Sunday.

Last week, I nodded off, over and over, while doing my final read-through of the newsletter. It was late, and instead of sitting at the table, I’d unplugged everything and moved to the comfy spot on the couch. It was probably just a bit too comfy.

I used to do that while drawing. So many times I have been working on a portrait late at night and nodded off, jerking awake only to find I’d made all kinds of crazy marks on the page. Nodding off while holding my computer is infinitely more risky. Each time I would wake, I would feel my fingers on the keys and worry. Had I added anything? Deleted anything? It’s a strange feeling to wake so attuned to the pressure of fingers on the keys. I called it quits, scheduled the newsletter, and shut down. I dragged the shoebox that the laptop sits on top of on the table into the right space for my drawing group the next day, plugged the computer in, and went to bed.

The next morning, I vaguely remembered having written about the fact that the next few weeks may be chaotic. I wanted to set expectations, build in a cushion, a small window of understanding. I wanted to give myself grace. I remembered writing something about the nucleus of the coming weeks and all the threads wiggling out from the center. I worried, suddenly, that I’d been in the middle of writing that when I dozed off…. Did I complete the sentence, the thought? I pulled up the post to check, and I didn’t see the line. So where did I stick it?

I found it, this little scrap of a line tucked to the side, simple and compact and hiding and encompassing, embracing so much:

I have a few busy weeks coming up with my son’s college graduation at the center and a whole lot of things radiating from the middle. I am hoping to do what I can to maintain my schedule here.

That’s the sum of it!

Keeping things short today….

• An animal crackers follow-up

• A new episode of the Creativity Matters Podcast

• Morning Stories for April 23-29

• Illustrate Your Week 18 prompts

• Appreciation for other substacks

• Write for Life Read-Along Week 4 + Affirmations

They Bite the Heads Off

Quick on the heels of my worry about where the lost line had gone, I realized I had forgotten to add the seal joke in the animal crackers section. How could I have forgotten the seal! I had meant to include it because these silly jokes are somehow becoming the punctuation to my consciousness in ways even I don’t fully understand. I am just going with it. I’ll take every little smile or laugh or chuckle that comes up these days. One of the hardest illustrated journal prompts for me some weeks is “what made you smile” or “what made you laugh.” Thinking back at the end of a day, I often find I can’t pinpoint anything. So here’s the punch line for last week’s animal crackers discussion.

Episode 468: Alphabet Primer

A new podcast is out. This one has everything to do with alphabets and alphabet primers. It also explains a bit about the window view that has become central to my morning writing routine. Stick through that to get to the “alphabet” word discussion. I think it’s pretty magical, especially if you pronounce it wrong. When you pronounce it correctly, it’s all pretty basic.

Inspiration on Other Substacks

These substacks and lines from other substacks caught my eye this week:

• From CraftTalk: “There’s something about removing all the choices from your life that can help clear that headspace for making all the choices you need when it comes to your art.” This is a beautiful line about something that I do in multiple aspects of my life. Reducing choice and being more minimal in my approach has made such a difference for me. A “uniform” gets mentioned in the post, and I love that and the whole discussion. When I did the 100 Day Dress Challenge, my reason wasn’t about art or my creative life, although I did start it in November, which aligns with what has become an annual month of gratitude tracking and awareness, with plenty of appreciation for end-of-day light at the top of the hill. Synced from the start with that, my dress challenge led to 100 days of quotes and reflections on light, memory, gratitude, and wearing the dress. This form of streamlining, embracing minimalism, and reducing decisions can be so clarifying.

• Trish Tails: Every day, Trish shares a short comic about her day. I enjoy seeing these each day! She has also been doing a fun 100 days of vlogging.

• From Becoming: “I haven’t been writing about synchronicities lately. It’s mostly because there are so many of them, not too few. They crowd together like beads on a string.” I love the image of this, these beads on a string as moments of synchronicity line up. The irony of not writing about synchronicity because there are so many is quite wonderful. I read Fran’s newsletter each week and appreciate her thoughtful reflections.

Morning Stories for April 23-29

My “Morning Stories” (posted daily at Instagram) for this week are compiled on one page here.

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” —J. B. Priestley

Illustrate Your Week — Week 18

The new prompts for Week 18 have been posted.

Write for Life Read-Along + Affirmations

For those reading along, my notes on Week 4 of Write for Life are here.

Write for Life / Week 4 (Resist Your Resistance)

One of the things that surprised me in this chapter was the appearance of affirmations. (With the emphasis on synchronicity, this shouldn’t have surprised me.) Affirmations intrigue me, more as a voice of positivity and a way to reframe with a counter perspective than as a tool for manifestation. While I have not used them to manifest anything obvious, they are something I “circle around” (which is how I describe it in the post).

In looking up the link to the Tim Ferris interview with Scott Adams, which was the first time I got “intrigued” by affirmations, I found this random post from someone exploring affirmations as part of a “30 Days of Joy” series. Those reading Write for Life know that Cameron insists on Morning Pages being handwritten. She has a one-size-fits-all approach to most things, which doesn’t work for every reader or every writer, and writing by hand is fundamental to her process.

I’ve committed to the morning writing by hand, but all my other writing is speed-of-light writing by keyboard. I found it interesting in the “30 Days of Joy” post that after trying typing affirmations, the author switches to writing them longhand and then reflects on that change and on how the forced slowing down of the process made a difference. The time it took to write the affirmations a certain number of times gave him more time to really think about the words. I know that lettering in my illustrated journal is something I really enjoy, and I love the mindful act of lettering quotes or filling in headlines and call-out words I’ve outlined. While I do need to do most of my writing via keyboard, there is definitely something to contemplate (and something contemplative) about writing some things by hand, pen to paper.

Curious about writing affirmations? You can write your own or find affirmations that resonate with you in posts like this one: 99 Positive Morning Affirmations You Can Use Daily.

“M is for magic. All the letters are, if you put them together properly. You can make magic with them, and dreams, and, I hope, even a few surprises.” — Neil Gaimain

Under the Influence Art Journaling

I mentioned this last week and just want to share the link one more time. Andrea Chebeleu (of A Work of Heart) offers the Under the Influence Art Journaling series a few times a year. Each week, they look at the work of a single artist, break down the elements the artist uses, and then experiment with creating similar work to explore various techniques, approaches to layout, etc. Learn more about the upcoming series. This next session begins May 2, 2023.

Question

What is your single favorite art tool? Be specific!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Amy