Thank you for sharing this Jamie. I needed to hear these words today, just now. I needed the reminder about “enough”, not just for my writing but the other roles I play in life as well. For me, enough is the feeling of snuggling with my 9 year old at bedtime listening to her tell about her day and her dreams. It’s the feeling of taking a silent long walk with my dog, knowing we have both done something that’s good for us. Enough is the feeling of putting down words that have come from me and are expressing something within me. Witnessing Tracy Chapman’s sublime rendition yesterday was an absolute blessing!
We seem to have a disease in this culture of lack of satisfaction. In other words, never enough. It might show up in stuff, FOMO, whatever markers make sense to each person. I have fought it my entire life, and in my writing life it shows up as always one more task I feel I should do, to somehow do it right. I loved your piece because it reminded and reassured me that the break I'm about to take is one majorly healthy choice. I've just finished promoting one novel and another is being released in April. I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't rest.
Oh, I feel you. Haven't written for a week due to work travel, and now I'm sick, and berating myself with "WRITERS WRITE!" and "DON'T BE A BABY!" because I just don't want to be upright today. Yet here I sit. But the Tracy Chapman performance...every feel imaginable.
Enough for me lately has been small, daily wins - writing 1000 words, or editing 1 chapter, or reading 25 pages of someone else's writing, etc. Anything to stay moving, to keep going, to never be done.
Yes, I also had that thought when watching Tracy Chapman—and Joni!—at the Grammys. Just trying to make one great thing in this life is a huge goal. You did that, Jami! And we can all take a small step toward it, today.
The Tracy Chapman moment last night was epic. I wept through the whole thing, nostalgic for my misspent youth on the very Harvard Square streets where Tracy started as a busker. I did NOT connect it to my own writing, so thanks for that. This morning I told a new writer friend (h/t #1000Words once again) that I had accomplished more than enough with book #1 and everything rolling in now is lagniappe.
All you said resonated with me on some higher level. Yes, Jami, you did enough. And so did I. And so (most likely) did all the wonderful people here on Substack. Sometimes, it's important to take time to breath and to be gentle with ourselves.
Enough for me these days is continually stepping toward creating the writing life and work I’ve always dreamed of, however small or large the strides I’m capable of may be from day to day.
This is so lovely. Between 1000 Words and Adam Antler’s Anatomy of a Breakthrough, I feel like the universe is honestly saying Enough with beating yourselves up! You’re fine! Now go enjoy your nice fountain pen and
Notebook and maybe have a cookie and some tea. ❤️❤️❤️
I have been thinking a lot about how I feel like I am not doing “enough” on Substack. Like I am just screaming in the void - or screaming like my toddler - except, unlike for her, no one is coming for me. I thought it would be different here and unlike social media but turns out that undertone is definitely present. So do I keep writing my newsletter and just put it out there for my 40 subscribers, do I hustle to build it up, or do I just stop? (The just stopping is very on brand for me - I don’t fit in so I am going to act like I don’t want to fit in and leave). I don’t know but this post was super helpful to see right now given my headspace!
I was watching the Grammy's at a local bar with a musical partner of mine, and it was such a lovely experience communally watching musical performances on screens that are normally showing sports. As a longtime performer with aspirations of artistic creation, I can sometimes find it challenging to just relax and embrace being a witness to other people's art in a way that doesn't invoke feelings of my not having done enough, of my needing to do something now, or soon, before time runs out. I noticed, after watching Tracy Chapman's performance (and Annie Lennox's), that I didn't feel like a person in need of doing much else other than crying, smiling, looking over at strangers at the bar, holding my heart and being in awe. Maybe it's enough then, at least sometimes, for me to just witness the beauty and radiance others offer us, to feel fortunate to witness it, and to just be a tender human who is capable of being deeply moved.
I'm afraid I'm going off track here, as this seems right along the lines of Elmo's recent post on some other social media platform that I won't mention. What does enough mean? It means is that I've had enough of Iowa's mean spirited governor who declined to participate in the federally funded Summer EBT program, which would give $40 per student per family over the summer months to make up for not getting free/reduced price breakfast and lunch at school. Her rationale? "An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic." Following her logic, if you're poor your kids are probably fat and you're not smart enough to provide adequate nutrition to your family so you might as well not get any additional resources to try. This, shortly after she after she ended supplemental SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits implemented during the pandemic. Internet memes popped up almost immediately: "I'm Governor Kim Reynolds. Here in Iowa, we know kids don't need food." Yeah, that's enough. I'm writing about it and paying a random kid's lunch account balance every week. This is probably not what you meant when you asked what enough means. Feel free to delete. :)
Lovely post! Showing up is enough. Sometimes that means showing up more, with fervor and fire when I'm excited and at the finish line, or at the start. Create, revise, release, rest, repeat. But sometimes it just means being present to the work. Just the other day I realized that, after three pandemic years, one of which was a grief year, I wrote a lot, but so much of it was just for me, with no intention to share it. And that's okay! Showing up is enough. Because showing up leads to sunshine, which can lead to almost anything. :)
Thank you for sharing this Jamie. I needed to hear these words today, just now. I needed the reminder about “enough”, not just for my writing but the other roles I play in life as well. For me, enough is the feeling of snuggling with my 9 year old at bedtime listening to her tell about her day and her dreams. It’s the feeling of taking a silent long walk with my dog, knowing we have both done something that’s good for us. Enough is the feeling of putting down words that have come from me and are expressing something within me. Witnessing Tracy Chapman’s sublime rendition yesterday was an absolute blessing!
We seem to have a disease in this culture of lack of satisfaction. In other words, never enough. It might show up in stuff, FOMO, whatever markers make sense to each person. I have fought it my entire life, and in my writing life it shows up as always one more task I feel I should do, to somehow do it right. I loved your piece because it reminded and reassured me that the break I'm about to take is one majorly healthy choice. I've just finished promoting one novel and another is being released in April. I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't rest.
Oh, I feel you. Haven't written for a week due to work travel, and now I'm sick, and berating myself with "WRITERS WRITE!" and "DON'T BE A BABY!" because I just don't want to be upright today. Yet here I sit. But the Tracy Chapman performance...every feel imaginable.
Enough for me lately has been small, daily wins - writing 1000 words, or editing 1 chapter, or reading 25 pages of someone else's writing, etc. Anything to stay moving, to keep going, to never be done.
Yes, I also had that thought when watching Tracy Chapman—and Joni!—at the Grammys. Just trying to make one great thing in this life is a huge goal. You did that, Jami! And we can all take a small step toward it, today.
The Tracy Chapman moment last night was epic. I wept through the whole thing, nostalgic for my misspent youth on the very Harvard Square streets where Tracy started as a busker. I did NOT connect it to my own writing, so thanks for that. This morning I told a new writer friend (h/t #1000Words once again) that I had accomplished more than enough with book #1 and everything rolling in now is lagniappe.
All you said resonated with me on some higher level. Yes, Jami, you did enough. And so did I. And so (most likely) did all the wonderful people here on Substack. Sometimes, it's important to take time to breath and to be gentle with ourselves.
Enough for me these days is continually stepping toward creating the writing life and work I’ve always dreamed of, however small or large the strides I’m capable of may be from day to day.
I’m not hitting 1,000 words every day, but for the past five days, I have written every day. That’s a big win. And it’s been so fun.
This is so lovely. Between 1000 Words and Adam Antler’s Anatomy of a Breakthrough, I feel like the universe is honestly saying Enough with beating yourselves up! You’re fine! Now go enjoy your nice fountain pen and
Notebook and maybe have a cookie and some tea. ❤️❤️❤️
I love this!
I have been thinking a lot about how I feel like I am not doing “enough” on Substack. Like I am just screaming in the void - or screaming like my toddler - except, unlike for her, no one is coming for me. I thought it would be different here and unlike social media but turns out that undertone is definitely present. So do I keep writing my newsletter and just put it out there for my 40 subscribers, do I hustle to build it up, or do I just stop? (The just stopping is very on brand for me - I don’t fit in so I am going to act like I don’t want to fit in and leave). I don’t know but this post was super helpful to see right now given my headspace!
I was watching the Grammy's at a local bar with a musical partner of mine, and it was such a lovely experience communally watching musical performances on screens that are normally showing sports. As a longtime performer with aspirations of artistic creation, I can sometimes find it challenging to just relax and embrace being a witness to other people's art in a way that doesn't invoke feelings of my not having done enough, of my needing to do something now, or soon, before time runs out. I noticed, after watching Tracy Chapman's performance (and Annie Lennox's), that I didn't feel like a person in need of doing much else other than crying, smiling, looking over at strangers at the bar, holding my heart and being in awe. Maybe it's enough then, at least sometimes, for me to just witness the beauty and radiance others offer us, to feel fortunate to witness it, and to just be a tender human who is capable of being deeply moved.
I'm afraid I'm going off track here, as this seems right along the lines of Elmo's recent post on some other social media platform that I won't mention. What does enough mean? It means is that I've had enough of Iowa's mean spirited governor who declined to participate in the federally funded Summer EBT program, which would give $40 per student per family over the summer months to make up for not getting free/reduced price breakfast and lunch at school. Her rationale? "An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic." Following her logic, if you're poor your kids are probably fat and you're not smart enough to provide adequate nutrition to your family so you might as well not get any additional resources to try. This, shortly after she after she ended supplemental SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits implemented during the pandemic. Internet memes popped up almost immediately: "I'm Governor Kim Reynolds. Here in Iowa, we know kids don't need food." Yeah, that's enough. I'm writing about it and paying a random kid's lunch account balance every week. This is probably not what you meant when you asked what enough means. Feel free to delete. :)
Lovely post! Showing up is enough. Sometimes that means showing up more, with fervor and fire when I'm excited and at the finish line, or at the start. Create, revise, release, rest, repeat. But sometimes it just means being present to the work. Just the other day I realized that, after three pandemic years, one of which was a grief year, I wrote a lot, but so much of it was just for me, with no intention to share it. And that's okay! Showing up is enough. Because showing up leads to sunshine, which can lead to almost anything. :)