Conversations I've been enjoying
... and workshop tonight
Hello all,
The summer is over and I’m back at my desk after a holiday in Ireland. The sun is shining through the windows and I’m a bit hungover. I accidentally got drunk last night. It wasn’t my fault. A force bigger than me pulled me to a bar for a sunny outside drink… and then one by one my neighbours joined… and we got chatting to people who we didn’t know… and then we were dancing in Nelly’s kitchen.
A final summer blow out. It was lovely.
Now back to work, and round 807 of book edits.
Before that, here are some conversations I’ve enjoyed lately.
THE RADICAL JOY OF RACHEL CARGLE
I loved this conversation between Elizabeth Gilbert and Rachel Cargle. I am a bit obsessed with Rachel Cargle, actually. Her book A Renaissance Of Our Own is so good. It’s about how to build a life on your own terms. She goes through every part of life - work, relationships, her body… and questions what do I want from this? How do I want to feel? What works for me? She grew up in a disadvantaged situation - caring for a disabled single mother, had sisters with addiction problems, no money etc - but got herself a scholarship to Columbia University only to get there and realise it was not the right place for her. She took herself out of one of the world’s most prestigious universities and built her own education, approaching lecturers and writers directly and then shared what she was learning online and now has millions of followers. What struck me in this conversation was the self-love and self-respect that Cargle seems to have. It oozes out of her. Total self-assurance. When she talks about the things that don’t work for her, there is no edge or anger, no sense that people were doing her wrong, just a clear knowing that ‘no, that doesn’t work for me.’ There are some people who act as touchstones for what I’d like to be more of - and she is one of them.
THE MORE BEAUTIFUL WORLD OUR HEARTS KNOW IS POSSIBLE
Another touchstone is Charles Eisenstein. He has written several books, including one whose name I turn around in my head often. It’s called: The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know is possible. I love that title. The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible. Eisenstein, like Rachel Cargle, is also in the business of reimagining what is possible for humans when it’s clear that so much isn’t working in the world today. I really liked this conversation. One of the sentences that stayed with me was actually from the interviewer, who observed: ‘When you choose something, you're also choosing everything that’s in the way.’ I thought that was so true. When you say you want something you are going to have to work through everything that’s in the way of that thing - fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of change, fear of what friends and family have to say…
SELF-EXPRESSION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SELF
I also got a lot from this chat about creativity between mega music producer Rick Rubin and writer Malcolm Gladwell. I say I got a lot but right now I can’t remember what I got from it! Ha! So maybe it wasn’t so much?! Oh no, now I remember what I got from it. Rubin talks about how creativity is about paying attention to the world, listening to it, and having a conversation with it. Julia Cameron talks about this in The Artist’s Way and so does Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic. Creativity is something bigger coming through us. It’s not something we are doing ourselves. He also talks about how he can dislike something without needing to dismiss it. So just because a certain song doesn’t do it for him right now, doesn’t mean it’s bad and he often changes his mind about things. So something he dislikes initially he might grow to love. I like that generosity and open-mindedness.
AGE WITH POWER
Finally, Viv Groskop is a British journalist and fellow self-help reader. Her podcast is great. I particularly enjoyed this conversation with fashion designer Norma Kamali. Kamali is 78, looks decades younger and is still running her fashion empire that made giant puffa coats fashionable years ago. She seems like such a happy woman.
She says: ‘“Aging gracefully” is just so not my phrase of the moment. To me, it’s submissive. Almost derogatory. The ability to age with power—especially when you know so much more than the people around you—is an attitude.’
I liked that.
Here’s to ageing with power.
xx
WORKSHOP TONIGHT
Ps there is a workshop tonight Monday 4th Sept 7.30-9pm. And there are more dates scheduled on Eventbrite if you fancy them. Writing for Fun and Sanity sessions are open to everyone - no need to be a writer. We come with a pen and paper, I set some writing prompts and we scribble together. No reading anything out loud and lovely chats in between.