Protecting Our Time
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Hello friends, As a person who creates things for a living, I need to set boundaries around energy, attention, and time. Even from myself. That last might seem funny, but when you think about it, it’s very true. How often do we say something is important to us, but fail to make it a priority? That could be health, family, enjoyment, financial stability, creativity, spiritual practice, social justice work, or spending time with friends. How often do other things creep in, crowding out the space, time, and attention needed to center what we say we want or need? These interruptions may be something as simple as robotically scrolling through social media. They may also take the form of binge watching far too many episodes on a streaming service, or letting family barge into our meditation or creative time. In other words, we all deal with some form of this, until we finally say, “No.” That no is a boundary that helps us reclaim our space. Other boundaries come in the form of priority lists, or marking things on our calendars, with reminder alerts if necessary. And what does all of this have to do with this week’s photo of cactus flowers dotted with rain? Well, the cactus keeps itself strong and healthy by virtue of sharp spines that will impale any creature that comes too close. This enables it to bloom in season, beautifully. Our boundaries may not need to be that pointed or extreme, but perhaps for some of us, they do. So, this week, I ask: How are you protecting what feels important to you? And what boundaries help you do that? Best wishes — Thorn Secret Links! My new contemporary fantasy novel launches on Kickstarter on Tuesday. I’ve created two secret, discounted tiers with extra perks only available to my regular supporters. No one else will have access to these links. They’ll be good for the first 48 hours of the campaign, then expire. I’ll send out a reminder email Tuesday morning, pacific time, so you can check them out if you wish. For now, if you click one of the links now, it will take you to the prelaunch page where you can sign up to get alerted the minute the campaign is live. Otherwise, the links will work as intended Tuesday and Wednesday only. Thanks for your continued interest in my work! Links below: Early Bird Special Edition Hardback Early Bird Deluxe Special Edition Hardback
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, I wrote about collective power for my Patreon supporters this week. I wrote about the importance of having each other’s backs, and protecting our neighbors. This was inspired by recent events in the US, of course, but the thing that coalesced my thoughts was a bit of sidewalk stencil graffiti. This is another reminder that the marks we make on this world are important. They invite thought, and conversation. Sometimes they keep a person going, when we don’t even realize it....
Hello friends, There’s a lot of new growth to see on my walks around the city. Tiny green needles at the tips of the Douglas firs. Sprouting grasses. New hops clambering over fences. Tiny figs and unfurling leaves on an equally tiny sidewalk fig tree… There’s planning happening, too. Finches scouting nest sites. Crows gathering twigs. Tiny green figs on a tiny fig tree. All of this new growth and planning fills my heart with joy. So does what feels like celebration in the riot of flowers, the...
Hello friends On one of my walks, I encountered chalk art on the sidewalk. It’s not uncommon, in neighborhoods where children live, to find scraggly ghosts of hopscotch grids, or flowers, or rainbows at one’s feet. This time, it was a pink and yellow heart. I smiled, paused, and snapped this photo: Photo of a pink and yellow chalk heart on a sidewalk. That heart stayed with me, though, because this heart was not just evidence that someone had given a child some chalk to while away a bit of...