We talk about self-expression but need to pause and remember that self-expression requires a self to express.

You are on the look out for experience, strength, and hope. You want to hear from the horse's mouth exactly how disappointments have been survived. It helps to know that the greats have had hard times too and that your own hard times merely make you part of the club.

It's impossible to get better and look good at the same time.

An artist requires the upkeep of creative solitude. An artist requires the healing of time alone. Without this period of recharging, our artist becomes depleted. Until we experience the freedom of solitude, we cannot connect authentically. We may be enmeshed, but we are not encountered. Art lies in the moment of encounter. We meet our truth and we meet ourselves and we meet our self-expression.

Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change.

The grace to be a beginner is always the best prayer for an artist.

Writing just for the hell of it is heaven.