19 Comments

Should I be worried that I can read that first paragraph as coming from my own inner critic? 😢 I love this insight into why I have so many unfinished projects. It’s all unfinished! Of course! As an architect, I’ve always been annoyed at how difficult it is to actually finish-finish a project. And even then, as soon as it’s done, it begins to fall apart. 😂

Your sketches are fantastic!

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Thank you Julie, that first paragraph describes a long line of very real attacks. In hindsight I am pretty sure some unconscious fear in either them, me or both triggered those. My dad being the leader of the pack, always emphasising the amount of stuff unfinished, never taking into account I started many more threads than most of the high score finishers. Many creatives are seeders, we have to be reckless with scattering.

Telling my inner critic it is not his turn when within creating mode helped me a lot. The imaginal realm is a sacred space, shut the fuck up and listen. Helps me to beat the bully.

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"we have to be reckless with scattering" - this is going on the wall over my desk. 😊

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“It’s all unfinished! Of course!”

This!! An epiphany I shall write down on a sticky note - plainly visible! And add, it’s ok, remember L and r!!

Phew!! I feel better already! 😅

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I have shoe boxes full of such notes waiting to be turned into small framed artworks. I have all the materials and equipment for several hundred. All I need to do is buy enough land to build the wall to hang them on......

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Worried Julie ? Nay Lass ! Try "Contentedly Relaxed"......

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Thanks for writing this Bertus. I feel seen! That book draft I wrote in 2012 will probably wait for a while still before I get back to it. I also believe us creatives don't have the Lefties's stamina to work relentlessly at something like they do. I know I don't. I need creative breaks for "sitting in a chair near a stove, apparently doing nothing" otherwise I'll burn out. I think the Righties's work is slower but deeper in general. And also, what I've noticed is that as soon as the Lefties have read a book or thought for 20 minutes about something, they believe they know enough to teach others. Most Righties would consider 20 minutes nothing. I personally can say I only feel competent at something after years of practice and learning. The Lefties and Righties are so opposite in character that it's like they speak different languages. I have been exploring that idea (using the terms "neurodivergent" and "neurotypical") for years, especially since hailing from a redneck family and environment. Being the black sheep can be hard for a long time before it starts being hard but also sometimes rewarding. Thanks for giving me new thoughts to mull over, thanks for feeding me with your ideas. (PS Your drawings are beautiful, I can't get enough of them!)

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Sep 15Liked by Bertus

What to do about the "Ls" insistence on dominance and their loud, so very "certain" thinking and believing in the need to "get there?" So sorry they feel they must hurt others, when all they need do, is turn away or find their own agency. Strange how not feeling feelings leads to so many hurt feelings. Thank you for speaking up for the "Rs." May we find that place for both Ls and Rs to wiggle.

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Hey Skye, glad to hear from you...

Haha, the r's do not get an uppercase. The task for r is to embrace deluded L and appreciate it for what it is. A tool. Tools need to be held.

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Sep 15Liked by Bertus

Lovely, and those words I feel an "Amen."

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Maybe the two l's in "Hell" stand for Lonely, Lost......

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Bertus I deeply empathize with the undercurrent of frustration bubbling up throughout this piece — it is in me too or I could not feel it. Perhaps, it is in fact the exact same anger an L feels towards an r, just the reciprocal form.

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Thank you Bertus - for clarifying why I have at least 25 unfinished essays in my Substack drafts alone, why I still haven’t weeded my veggie patch (never mind that I love the wild flowers) why I’ve have a hand-stitched patchwork quilt sitting in a trunk for the last thirty years, why my novel gathers dust!

I feel lighter of heart and lightheaded after reading this! 🙏🏽

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As someone who tidies the kitchen after Veronika'a creative (and very tasty) cooking, I am used to 'not finished'. I also have stacks of wood for sculptures, boxes of strange items (could be useful for a sculpture), gathering in the winter wood, getting water from the spring in the neighbouring village (chop wood, carry water never stops). The Left says, 'you can rest and do something creative when x, y & z are done'. The Right says 'your soul is dying through lack of creative work'. A life-long balance. The process is all. A half finished project done in a creative burst is worth more than ... than ... well I was going to say 'cleaned windows' but they won't stay clean for very long either.

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Hey Bertus, Dankjewel voor het "Like". Tot kijk ! Maurice

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Nothing is separate. Nothing is surplus. Nothing is finished.

Sigh of release / relief.

Thank you, Bertus.

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Such valuable insight for our completion/productivity driven species. Dave and I were just talking about how all of nature, except humans, reappropriate death. But humans for some odd reason want finality to our end with bomb-proof coffins and chemicals. So odd.

I celebrate your beautiful right brain and the way it continues to flourish with the seasons of your life, and all life.

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My friends and family tell a story about how I will live to 400, which may or may not mean that shall complete some of my projects (these days I manage reasonably well to limit majors to three). There's a reassuring Ancient Eastern concept that a busy person will not die until the good stuff is completed.

Is it significant that the letter L does not appear in the word Heaven but twice in Hell ?

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