Whimsy is healing
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Hello friends, While walking to meet some other writers in a café for our usual co-working date, I saw a piece of standard 8.5x11 inch paper stapled to a utility pole. It was one of those “rip off the tab at the bottom” fliers. I haven’t seen one of those in years, it seems. You may remember them. The “I walk dogs” or “yard work available” ads, with a fringe cut at the bottom, so a passerby could easily rip off the salient information, tuck it into a pocket, and then forget about it until bits of soggy paper ended up in the washing machine. This one was different enough that I smiled and snapped a photo. The body of the flier read, “I’m bored. I’ll send you a collage for no reason. With one easy step. DM me your address.” Totally whimsical, which is why I smiled. Best thing? All the little tabs were gone but one, with an Instagram handle on it. I looked it up later—@mailordercollagepdx—and it’s a tiny account filled with…bright paper collages. Pretty neat. There’s a lot of talk about whimsy these days, for good reason. Most of us are exhausted, sad, angry, and suspicious. We need a little whimsy to remind us that life is not just a tired, oppressive grind under dangerously escalating fascism and climate crisis. There is Black Boy Joy. There are people dressed as fairies having tea. Burly adults are painting their fingernails and gathering flowers. There’s a surge in cozy books. And, who here is as excited to watch Sheep Detectives as I am? Anyone? Some of you might still be suspicious of whimsy. First of all, why would I send a stranger my address so they could mail me art? What if they want to rob me? Besides being a ridiculously convoluted plan for smash and grab, I think that suspicion points to an underlying question: What right do we have to spontaneous joy in the midst of suffering? Every right. We are human. We can be serious and sorrowful, angry and helpful, as well as playful. We can embrace the totality of the human condition, and live to dance another day. As a matter of fact, if we are able to, we must. Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, What happens when we’re not inspired? Or worse, what happens when we’re downtrodden, or exhausted, or want to give up? Well… Rest is always a good option when we can make space for it. Refilling the well is another strategy: going for a walk, reading a novel, listening to music, sitting under a tree, watching a movie, meditating… Other times, we have to adult, don’t we? The thing I’ve learned though, is that adulting goes better if I don’t carry the attitude that this sucks and...
Hello friends, There I was, on our tiny back mud porch—earbuds in, writing business podcast queued up—putting my boots on. A strange, metallic noise sounded from the back garden. I looked up. A crow was at the birdbath. Not the source. I shrugged, slung my bag with my writing paraphernalia over my shoulder, pressed play on the podcast, and stepped out. The strange sound cut through the podcast voices. Pulling an earbud out, I found the source: a squirrel on the fence, busily grabbing,...
Hello friends, I was recently interviewed by Jamie Ferguson of Blackbird Press about my new essay collection: Let Your Life Be Lighting - Creativity in Times of Strife. She posed several questions, asking whether I ever feel discouraged, what to say to people who feel like giving up, and how I create during difficult times. In my answer to that last question, I called up inspiration from human history, and I think this might help you, too: “Think of the poems written, songs sung, clothing...