Thursday, December 21, 2017

ordinary is okay

hey there.

this is a smol post. this is me reminding myself that not everything has to be

BIG AND IMPORTANT AND PROFESSIONAL AND

perfect

that you can write blog posts by opening your computer and typing your thoughts out and sometimes – sometimes you have to be casual and spontaneous to access the deepest of revelations.  sometimes the most sincere words come out when you're sitting at the computer, typing stream-of-consciousness, not worried about the result. 

reality: i want to post on this blog more
problem: every time i think about posting, i feel pressure and can't even decide on a topic
solution: stop treating it like the declaration of independence

i started writing this post randomly, but now i'm serious about this. i really want to blog more often, but i'm so held back. so this blog is gonna change a little, maybe. i'm gonna be okay with just typing out what i think and posting it. posting without a fancy little graphic, sometimes.  just writing, journaling, giving my thoughts permission to exist.

not everything is an official document that must be signed by 56 people and framed on the wall and protected with laser technology

it's okay if it has typos

heck, i even warned you in my blog header - we're gonna have typos. and it's funny cause i'm not notorious for making typos when i type.  it goes beyond that – i think i was reminding myself that we don't have to be perfect.

who cares about typos, anyway

so this is my declaration of independence, and maybe it isn't as fancy as i would have wanted it to be.  but i think there's a lot of power in letting things be casual.  occasionally, i'll start writing a random story, just for fun.  a few pages in, i start really liking it.

"wow caroline, you might onto something. this is genius. everyone's gonna love it."

as soon as i label the thing as 'extraordinary', everything gets harder. i have to keep impressing myself.  we have Standards now, and everything i write is suddenly not-good-enough. something happens in the transition from ordinary to extraordinary.  what started out as a random, enjoyable thing now has stakes, and often times, stakes and creativity don't get along.

maybe just...let some things be ordinary. let them live their lives without recognizing them as amazing. when the time comes, you can look back and say wow, that's an extraordinary thing.

write your declarations of independence on plain white paper, and don't ask anyone to sign off until the thing is finished. for the time being, it's okay to be ordinary.

*clicks publish without making any fancy graphics and feels wildly rebellious*
~ Caroline :)


Monday, December 4, 2017

star


how do you breathe life into people
   not metaphorically –
how do you grasp their lungs and hold on
until they remember they are alive

how do you catch your own breath
long enough to tell them that
they are more beautiful
than you have words for
we live in the same world
so I will always be here for you

but how do you breathe life into people
I’m asking for celestial hands
while dust falls, mocking, from my lips
I am no god

so I make maps
simple words on lined paper
constellations that are more than burning stars
I leave a space for you
courageous space traveler
you will find your way home one day