# 20201204 What are we *doing* here, eh? *We can always be chasing the* [*sun*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFFberbflbU) Why have a newsletter? What are you here to read, and what am I here to write? *All we can do is try* I’m not interested in writing an advice column. I’m not interested in committing to giving the world a play-by-play on my life. *Why don’t we turn back time for* [*tonight*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLqXS3l7to) We’re makers, all of us—whether or not that’s an identity thing for you, we all *make* by virtue of our focus. Our movements are informed by our attention, and when we steer our senses toward a thing, the trillion layers of our existence engage with it, and the world is changed, just a little. *Why don’t we turn* A pearl is formed when an *irritant* (the internet’s words, not mine) is lodged in an oyster, mussel, or clam. That’s striking, eh? A pearl, that thing of beauty, *could not* come into existence were it not for the arrival of something *irritating*. The response to that unwanted thing unavoidably creates something beautiful. *oooooo, let me in or I’ll get physical with* [*you*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6kXsSJlOio) What are you making? Are you doing it on purpose yet? *I just gotta dance right now, it’s critical to do* I wrote [on Instagram earlier](https://www.instagram.com/p/CIT9A2MBxy2/) about releasing artificial measures of success. It’s a dance, sort of. Sort of? (I *love* dancing.) To make a thing that is a pure expression *of my own expression* (redundancy intentional) is glorious, and to find it well-received is no bad thing. The magic trick here is to read that reception for what it *really* is. *Wave goodbye, wish me well, you gotta let me* [*go*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZdjT1472Y) We’re wired to learn from the feedback our environment gives us, to then tune our behavior accordingly, to more reliably get the results that we want. But feedback can be interpreted, can be mis-interpreted, and listening for what’s *really* happening is critical. *My sign is vital, my hands are cold* When I make something that is *mine*, and I release it into the universe, and I receive accolades and celebration and affirmation in return, I have a choice in how I interpret this feedback: 1. The motions that I made resulted in approval, which felt good. I should repeat those motions, and I’ll get more approval, and I’ll keep feeling good. 2. Or: The energy that I run in resulted in this unique, ne’er to be repeated expression, inspired these specifically unique motions, and it reminded those who were there for it of their own power, their own singular self-ness, and they expressed that joy back to me. Those motions I made, they’re dead by themselves, without the inspiration, so I’m gonna keep running in my own energy, and I’ll discover what motions of mine are inspired next, and I’ll keep feeling good. That first one has an expiration date. That second one is time itself. *Are we human, or are we dancer?* I love making things. I love making *real* things, and for *me* that means things that are connected by a live, electric wire to my heart and soul, to my being. That has always been most important, and always will be, regardless of how the scales of money/audience/staff/influence/presence move. Those scales are there to be played with, to be *genuinely* enjoyed, to be *adjusted*, even, as inspiration demands. *Come watch us rise* [*again*
](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-o0ycSsqYA)*Out of the fever*\ \&#xNAN;*Life will never be the same*\ \&#xNAN;*I'm a believer*\ \&#xNAN;*Don't call us another name*\ \&#xNAN;*We were born to the same sunrise*\ \&#xNAN;*It's getting brighter all the time*\ \&#xNAN;*'Cause all my friends, they know*\ \&#xNAN;*Been making messes out of silence*\ \&#xNAN;*If we're the same, let me let go*\ \&#xNAN;*Somebody save me from the madness* I love you, dear reader. :) You are able, powerful beyond belief, and yet you are exactly as powerful as you believe. Fall back with me, into belief: this trust fall is how we *fly*. *So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right* [*ways*
](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjVNlG5cZyQ)*All my underdogs*\ \&#xNAN;*We will never be never be, anything but loud*\ \&#xNAN;*And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks*\ \&#xNAN;*Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass*\ \&#xNAN;*Just come on and come on and raise your glass*\ \&#xNAN;*With me*
*** It is useful useful useful to look for things that remind you of how you want to think, how you want to be focused. Abe made a coffee table book expressly for this purpose. You can find it at [lightward.com/joy](https://lightward.com/joy). {% hint style="info" %} Originally sent out [via email](https://lightward.com/campaigns/view-campaign/7RJmDFFPg3rf8XKJyBdM17u7uB7lPYzO9a5bWn8ofAALfVh5r5QsA-yfz3DRreTJth7tmHmzmSqeFW8YPvMzZjmjCH5LCBXC) {% endhint %}