Field Notes: Valentine's Day edition

"My job is to down the volume of that little voice—the ‘inner critic’ we sometimes call it—and believe in myself and keep going." — Maggie Smith

From Canva’s Magic Media AI tool and the prompt: "Create an abstract painting with hearts.” Not quite what I had in mind, but it’ll do!

Hello, dear friends! Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s a ridiculous holiday in many ways, but if you can push aside the commercial stress, it can be a sweet and simple prompt to tell people you appreciate them. That you care that they care. And so, thank you for reading, for tucking some of my words into your mind for the day, for leaving a comment, or passing an email along. Writing is a lonely adventure, but it’s less lonely with you. ❤️

Now onto this week’s Field Notes, three interesting things I ran across this week: One delightful thing, one thing you can do today, and one thing worth saving and rereading.

1} Something delightful: This Pep Talk by poet Maggie Smith.

Maggie is one of my very favorite poets. She recently spoke to fifth-graders and gave them advice that all of us can use, too. (Plus, she shared their handwritten thank you cards, which might be just what you need to see today.)

She wrote:

The kids were terrific—they listened, laughed, wrote quietly when I gave them a generative writing activity, enthusiastically volunteered to share, and shot their hands in the air when it was time for Q&A. They asked about where I get my ideas, and what my next book is about, and when I started writing poems.

And then one girl up front asked, “Did anyone ever try to stop you?”

Wow. Talk about a pointed question. This is what I told her, in so many words: “If anyone has tried to stop me, it’s been that little voice in my head that says I’m not good enough, or no one will care what I have to say, or my idea isn’t very interesting. And my job is to turn down the volume of that little voice—the ‘inner critic’ we sometimes call it—and believe in myself and keep going. And I hope you do that, too.”

Try to turn down the volume of your inner critic. Believe in yourself. Keep going. ❤️

Read the whole post here.

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2} Something you can do today: Here’s something that might take 4 minutes of your time and zero dollars: Send 3 people you cherish a Valentine’s Day text.

As the U.S. Surgeon General has said, we’re in a loneliness epidemic.

Pass along some love today. We all need human connection.

Let them know how cool, wonderful, sweet, and beloved they are!

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3} Something to reread: Intermission by Kathleen Schmidt

I subscribe to a lot writing / publishing-related newsletters, and Publishing Confidential by Kathleen Schmidt is a gem. Recently, Kathleen shared a more personal post about taking a break because of depression. She was so candid: “I try to be as authentic and transparent as possible in my posts, which is what I will do with this one.”

I think it’s worth a read and a reread because we don’t often see this level of honesty about what’s actually happening in our lives. So many illnesses — depression included — can be completely hidden. Kathleen shows us one way to share, a way that felt right to her, and it’s moving.

Plus, Kathleen includes a list of “a few things for people who suffer from depression so they do not feel alone.” It begins:

“It is okay to call it a day. Tomorrow is a new day, and you don’t know what will happen.

“Spring is close, and so is more daylight. We are a month away from Daylight Saving Time. March 10^th is when we “spring ahead.”

“You are stronger than you think. It is exhausting to be strong, and I know you are tired, but you also have so much to offer the world.

“Depression lies. You are not weak. You are not “less than.” Your brain is just different.

“You are not alone. At the very least, you know I deal with depression, so that makes two of us.

“We are our worst critics. Try not to be critical of yourself while depressed. You can’t help when it comes on; you don’t know when it will leave (but it will leave), and you will be okay.”

Read her full post here.

I hope you have a sweet day ahead. You aren’t alone. We are all on this spinning planet together. ❤️

To our journeys,
Brianne