On Discernment and Paris

How I am learning the art of being choosy about what I choose

Right now, write now. 📸 along the Seine.

August is always a complicated month. My birthday kicks it off, quickly followed by the summer sad of early sunsets and cooling air. Fortunately, this summer has been so hot I’ve barely remembered the oncoming of autumn. That’s helped me dedicate a little more time to my internal life, to filling up my cup, getting clear on how I’d like to steer the ship of my life, especially before we barrel toward the end of another year. How are you extending the light?

My goal this August was to shift my thinking as my dear friend Jadah invited: Maybe slowing down doesn’t mean doing “nothing” maybe it means being more discerning about the things I choose to do. With that in mind, I swapped Zoom calls in exchange for old skool telephone calls, allowed myself to get lost in gardening and lawn work, took a few solo beach days for myself…and…

1. Attended the Online News Association conference in Philadelphia. Insight: It’s harder and more gratifying to attend as myself rather than representing a company or brand. It’s “just me,” and that means space to talk as much about revenue strategy and audience development philosophy as much as my poetry chapbook or the topic of self-worth I explore in my literary memoir. It was fascinating to hear how much journalists wanted to talk about THAT. (Exciting for when the book is published and also FASCINATING.)

2. Speaking of the book, I completed a great one week book bootcamp led by Paul Carr via Chairman.me. He and the group helped me remain accountable to my writing goals for the month and Paul’s perspective and guidance helped clarify the story arc and next steps in my writing. I was grateful for that time focused on my writing.

3. Learned about the trees and flowers on our property through the Catskills Forest Association. The membership organization is an amazing educational resource. Apparently we have more Black Locust trees than our guide had ever seen on a property (that’s not necessarily a good thing) and we should feel free to take some down and allow more sun to hit the maple and oak trees in the forest. And so it begins.

4. And Paris. With Ben. Part of me feels like I need to explain that we had airline ticket credits that were set to expire and enough Amex points to cover the hotel and make it feel reasonable despite my new employment situation (TL;DR interesting conversations are brewing and I’m taking my time learning what is right at this stage in life); yet another part of me wants you to know that regardless of that financial justification, this is what I needed to return to a familiar sense of myself, of us. Most importantly, I want you to know this makes me very, very happy. 🥖

Me and my shadow.

And with that, I shall return to staring at the gray rooftops and blue sky over Saint-Germain-des-Prés and wish you a lovely Labor Day from Pareeeee. 🙏  A bientôt.