The state of limbo

And trying to stay present

💻 what I'm up to 💻
Do you ever stop and realize how much of our life is spent in limbo, waiting for one thing or another? Maybe it’s actually not that much and only that I’m feeling it these days between waiting on the slow pace of traditional publishing, waiting to see where a particular shoe is going to land with a big part of my life, waiting on answers about things I’m exploring. Pardon the vagueness but I hope the constant comes through: waiting on things beyond my control. Being in a state of limbo.

I don’t thrive in a state of limbo. I’m a Capricorn. I need structure, a container, routines where Y comes after X. It seems contradictory as I’m an avid follower of mindfulness. I try to practice it regularly and if I stay on top of those practices, the muscle is stretched and it comes more easily. But the second I fall out of practice, my mind takes the state of limbo and spirals within it and all its possibilities.

A hawk who appeared in our yard on New Year’s Day

I try to ease things by letting my brain dump all my worries onto paper. Then as an extra step after the brain dump, I write possible outcomes and responses, which you know, isn’t great because I have no way of actually knowing the outcomes. But it does make my brain settle for a while to know that I have potential plans for each option.

One of my “ins” for the year is to sit more with nature and the wheel of the year, to pay more attention to the seasons and how our lives nestle within them–inspired both by Ayurveda and witch practices. And while nature has its patterns, those too are continually being disrupted by the actions of humans. Many plants and creatures are in limbo, hundreds of years of consistent behavior thrown by climate change, and they’re doing the best the can.

Which is, I guess, all any of us can do.

📘 my book things 📘
Well, I can say a small thing about a project I worked on this year! I worked with a team of super cool contributors on the new Star Wars Encyclopedia, coming in September!!

As for other news, watch this space! I’m also going to do a giveaway for my many author copies of The Art of God of War Ragnarok and The Art of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands soon!

📺 what I'm watching 📺
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Over winter break and well into January, I took a break from most of nerd media. I watched The Beatles Anthology and then followed it up with Martin Scorsese's George Harrison biopic. I find him to be a fascinating human who wrote gorgeous music. (“All Things Must Pass” is a solid one for that limbo state!). Also, it’s total news to me that Scorsese has done so many music documentaries.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians
My exception to the break from nerd media was Percy Jackson and the Olympians. If you like the books (even if you've never read the books), I highly recommend this show. The casting is perfection and the story is very accessible and fun. It’s an excellent Greek mythology romp and I hope Disney adapts the whole book series.

📚 what I'm reading 📚
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl
I want to wrap this book around me like a blanket. It's a series of non-fiction essays about nature and life through the course of a year. Simple, deep, beautiful... I couldn't put it down. The prose put me there alongside the author as an observer. It is not about crows as much as you might think from the title, but crows do appear from time to time.

Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta
On the complete other end of the spectrum, I finally read Morning Glory Milking Farm! And you know, it has a lot of wholesome and sweet moments. Brace yourself for vivid descriptions of certain minotaur bodily fluids and a lovely romance! I really like the town Nascosta has built here and I'll definitely be visiting other books that take place in Cambric Creek.

I’ve also been thoroughly enjoying Deepak Chopra’s Total Meditation. And! We’re hoping to adopt some more cats this year so I’ve been reading every Jackson Galaxy book that exists. 😻

🐳 something whalesome 🐳
I like wholesome things and the whale emoji is cute so: whalesome!

This month is just Kairi; she’s in the middle of losing it over a new wand toy. If I put it away before she’s done, she yells until it comes back out. If I leave it on the ground for her to “kill,” she yells. I had to hold it over my shoulder during a meeting yesterday to get her to chill out.

🍃 creativity corner 🍃
Here I’ll share tips and tricks that are helping me write, imagine, and/or stay productive.

This is so basic I don’t know if I can call it a tip or trick but it’s brought me joy. I draft in Open Office. Scrivener isn’t for me. So, to more easily track my word count progress, I make a quick Excel or Google Sheet to log the number of words I’ve written on a particular date. The number goes up at varying speeds and whether it’s by 100 words or 1700, I like seeing the progress.

📃 quote of the month 📃
“My dear, nothing matters. Literally nothing. It’s all just salt and stardust. The meaning that life has is only the meaning we are fit to give it.” - Chuck Wendig, Wayward

Drop a line or comment and let me know how 2024 is treating you so far!