I'm told you can't pour from an empty cup

A self-care meme for you and me

I’m exhausted because I’ve been planning a self-care workshop all week…

I needed to write that so I could laugh at it, but also think about how it’s true but also only partly true. I’m exhausted for many of the reasons you’re exhausted today, too. Everyone is toast right now and I don’t blame any of us. (Well…except for when I try to blame myself…)

While making me tea this morning, my husband suggested (in the upbeat way that is his unique superpower) that maybe today I could keep this newsletter simple.

“What about just writing about one phrase? Like…you can’t pour from an empty cup?”

Me, barely able to support the weight of my own head let alone the cup of tea because of how un-fucking-believably-exhausted-I-am realize he’s given me this assignment because he loves me. And because I needed a pass today.

Self-care 101:

Trite shit splashed across a thousand million print-on-demand products and licensable stock photos largely aimed at the female market can’t be wrong…right?

It’s true- we can’t. But also- we do. In so many ways, we have to keep pouring whether it’s empty or not. Yeah, what I’m pouring might not be the freshest but “running on empty” is also a thing because it’s a thing and getting a fill-up isn’t as easy as scheduling a little “me time” on Sunday. So I get it. I do. But there’s a rub.

I’m asking myself what a more accurate/hilarious chalk-cursive, self-care message might be…

“YOU’RE POURING FROM A PERPETUALLY EMPTY CUP: IGNORE THE COGNITIVE DISCONNECT: JUST NOTICE HOW YOU’RE POURING”

-or-

“LIVE, LAUGH, POUR”…

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See, and this is where I tried to complicate my softball low-key self-care meme newsletter and follow this weird metaphor all the way down the rabbit hole…

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In a recent newsletter from the excellent

Rae Katz

, she asked her readers about their last “Artist Date” & what they do to reignite their creative spark—

Well, I think Creative Spirit is precisely the eternal source from which my empty cup flows, so I shared this new practice— Hitting up a series of thrift stores just to look for material that would be fun to cut up and turn into poetry & collage. :

These cut-up poems brought me an enormous amount of pleasure to make and now live on the refrigerator door as divine aphorisms: “focus on fire, spotlight your source, this enchanting flood will usher in the winter, a couple of days remain” & “just get out. also in: when in doubt, stop fighting. please, for the creative spirit, shine on”

I did this as “play time” during my recent year-in-review retreat with creative partner Anna & Neon. Just getting up from the desk to go touch old weird print material around town was really helpful for my mind. And buying books you’re secretly taking home to deface is oddly exhilarating?

My new cut-up source book is called HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS. I loved making sly poetry out of bold certainty like this…

“IN SEARCH OF QUANTUM REALITY- we take for granted how it’s incredible. A Summary.” ( Austin Kleon has been on to something…. )

My questions for you this week…

1. How does the universe work?

2. What’s your source?

Take good care of yourselves & your loved ones and don’t forget to receive care where it finds you— for me today in a cup of tea and a writing prompt handed to me with love…

xo,

November 18th, Online: This month’s Creative Partnership Circle leads the group through your own year-in-review. It’s free for paid subscribers but if you haven’t been to one yet, you’ll need to register first. To make sure you’re signed up, head over here.

[Who? Good for creative entrepreneurs, folks who make creative stuff and make some kind of a living off of what they make, folks who make a living another way but need support focusing on their creative goals, etc…]