You have an uncanny ability to write what’s on my heart and mind (and the hearts and minds of many others no doubt) in a way that honors ambivalence while also holding fast to hope. It’s beautiful and I really appreciate it.
It indeed feels very silly and vapid to have to do the things we have to do to promote ourselves in the midst of global events like this. I appreciate how you turn your focus outward as much as you can. By chance, have you read "Orwell's Roses" by Rebecca Solnit? It really helped me reframe some of the ways I view myself within global issues like this.
I’m a doctor (and thus likely not the primary audience for this piece), but I just want to say that artists and “non-traditionals” are the people who saved me from the stress of the pandemic and from my very heavy work in the hospital. I appreciate your creativity and that of so many others who remind me to find my own. Thank you for this piece and for putting some of my own feelings into words.
I am deeply exhausted that so many people are behaving as if Covid is no longer a threat, particularly as it affects folks who are immunocompromised. I find it hard to connect to a community, however compassionate, that does not make room for the fact of an airborne virus that can cripple and kill. However, seeing this ignorance in action underlines the intersectionality of all our struggles, all the genocides. And I believe we can change this.
This: all of this. Thank you, Cody. (Picking my copy of Sister Outsider back up…)
You are definitely not alone in all of the exhaustions. & I share many of the same ones. I don’t like to define myself (really feeling the Ani DiFranco song “The Thing at Hand” lately) & recognize the privilege even in that, in some of my identities/ailments being invisible. But that itself can be tiring.
I have to remind myself often that my work is good & grounded in beauty even if doesn’t feel like enough at all, even if it feels like it isn’t making a dent. But I really wish I didn’t have to sell anything at all. Marketing feels gross & social media keeps getting grosser. I appreciate the genuine connections I have there & have been more mindful about my use. That fine line…
'I find it isn’t the work that I want to avoid, it’s the marketing of the work.' That's so true. I've thought about the creating and sharing of our work when the world around us feels so heavy. I've felt guilty for still wanting to create and share with people. I don't think it's possible to have solutions for the burnout and exhaustion always. But the soft determination to pivot, tend and lean into our people is a reminder I'll carry with myself. Thank you for writing this, Cody. ❤️
hi cody! sending love! wondering if there's a post where you talk about *returning* to social media...since i notice here you say you're exploring w it again! i've been actively studying and working w my relationship w tech and social media for 10 years, i take lots of breaks through the years from the platforms and play with different sturctures to support me. i actually just did 5 months off which kicked off w listening to your "leaving instagram forever" podcast so im curious to read YOUR update! it's been an awesome 5 months and i am currently stepping back in....while simultaenously writing a free guide for people around taking digital detoxes / working w relationship w social media. cheers! ♡
resonated with so so much of this, thank you💗 right before i read it, i finished “the role of the artist is to load the gun” by ismatu gwendolyn here on substack, and it felt like such a good companion piece!
you have such a way of articulating the truths buried beneath my swarms of anxiety and fear. thank you for these words Cody, it's exactly how i've been feeling as i've been pushed to market my photography more. the world needs more art, not less, and it needs my art and yours. it is not gratuitous or self involved or wrong. it is right. we are doing the right thing. like you said - they don't have to be so separate.
Everything on all fronts here. Exhausted. To pay to pay to pay. Just as it seems book club is divine timing for many, this feeling seems to be the general aura of the season. As always, we will move through it.
You have an uncanny ability to write what’s on my heart and mind (and the hearts and minds of many others no doubt) in a way that honors ambivalence while also holding fast to hope. It’s beautiful and I really appreciate it.
holding fast to hope!
It indeed feels very silly and vapid to have to do the things we have to do to promote ourselves in the midst of global events like this. I appreciate how you turn your focus outward as much as you can. By chance, have you read "Orwell's Roses" by Rebecca Solnit? It really helped me reframe some of the ways I view myself within global issues like this.
I have not! Thank you for recommending - going to check it out
I’m a doctor (and thus likely not the primary audience for this piece), but I just want to say that artists and “non-traditionals” are the people who saved me from the stress of the pandemic and from my very heavy work in the hospital. I appreciate your creativity and that of so many others who remind me to find my own. Thank you for this piece and for putting some of my own feelings into words.
I am deeply exhausted that so many people are behaving as if Covid is no longer a threat, particularly as it affects folks who are immunocompromised. I find it hard to connect to a community, however compassionate, that does not make room for the fact of an airborne virus that can cripple and kill. However, seeing this ignorance in action underlines the intersectionality of all our struggles, all the genocides. And I believe we can change this.
[edit to make it clearer]
I am exhausted by this same thing. Just want to say you are not alone 💛
Thanks, Ashley. Wishing you rest. ❤️
Reading this makes me feel less exhausted and less alone. Thank you, Cody.
This: all of this. Thank you, Cody. (Picking my copy of Sister Outsider back up…)
You are definitely not alone in all of the exhaustions. & I share many of the same ones. I don’t like to define myself (really feeling the Ani DiFranco song “The Thing at Hand” lately) & recognize the privilege even in that, in some of my identities/ailments being invisible. But that itself can be tiring.
I have to remind myself often that my work is good & grounded in beauty even if doesn’t feel like enough at all, even if it feels like it isn’t making a dent. But I really wish I didn’t have to sell anything at all. Marketing feels gross & social media keeps getting grosser. I appreciate the genuine connections I have there & have been more mindful about my use. That fine line…
'I find it isn’t the work that I want to avoid, it’s the marketing of the work.' That's so true. I've thought about the creating and sharing of our work when the world around us feels so heavy. I've felt guilty for still wanting to create and share with people. I don't think it's possible to have solutions for the burnout and exhaustion always. But the soft determination to pivot, tend and lean into our people is a reminder I'll carry with myself. Thank you for writing this, Cody. ❤️
hi cody! sending love! wondering if there's a post where you talk about *returning* to social media...since i notice here you say you're exploring w it again! i've been actively studying and working w my relationship w tech and social media for 10 years, i take lots of breaks through the years from the platforms and play with different sturctures to support me. i actually just did 5 months off which kicked off w listening to your "leaving instagram forever" podcast so im curious to read YOUR update! it's been an awesome 5 months and i am currently stepping back in....while simultaenously writing a free guide for people around taking digital detoxes / working w relationship w social media. cheers! ♡
I touched on it lightly here :) https://codycookparrott.substack.com/p/new-rules
Exhausted in my pmdd today in a way I haven’t been before. Thank you for this hope beyond the exhaustion within and around us. 🖤🩶
resonated with so so much of this, thank you💗 right before i read it, i finished “the role of the artist is to load the gun” by ismatu gwendolyn here on substack, and it felt like such a good companion piece!
Thank you for your words and for supporting our dream. ✨
you have such a way of articulating the truths buried beneath my swarms of anxiety and fear. thank you for these words Cody, it's exactly how i've been feeling as i've been pushed to market my photography more. the world needs more art, not less, and it needs my art and yours. it is not gratuitous or self involved or wrong. it is right. we are doing the right thing. like you said - they don't have to be so separate.
Everything on all fronts here. Exhausted. To pay to pay to pay. Just as it seems book club is divine timing for many, this feeling seems to be the general aura of the season. As always, we will move through it.