dreaming unattached
Last week on my podcast, I spoke to Jezz Chung, whose book This Way to Change came out earlier this year. I loved speaking to them about their process because I always seek ways to connect to my creativity and keep going when I feel discouraged. It can take a lot to keep going when you’re not sure your dreams will come to fruition.
I like what Ethan Hawke recently said in an interview about acting, in reference to the advice he gives his daughter: “If teaching acting at a high school in Seattle when you’re 62, if that doesn’t sound great - then get out. Get the fuck out. Because if you don’t think it’s worth it to do that, then what is it that you’re doing? You get to decide whether or not you think art has value. And then you just put yourself at it. The world doesn’t know what it’s doing; you don’t have to take that seriously - success and failure.”
I like the idea of deciding what has value for oneself — which is also what Jezz talked about in our conversation: because taste really is so personal and subjective. It’s why I truly hate reading reviews of films before I see them, because then I have all this criticism rolling around in my head, and I can’t assess how I feel about what I’m watching, notice how it touched me, what landed, what didn’t. I have been writing both professionally and non-professionally for 20 years, and I’m still working towards the same dreams I had when I was 15; they haven’t changed.
When I was 18, I had a few articles published on the Wallpaper* magazine website, where I worked for a summer. I was paid in free coffee, hour-long lunch breaks, and clout. Still, the pride I felt at my words being publishable was thrilling, but the words I wrote in my diary that summer thrilled me too, even though I was too scared to show them to anyone back then. And even if I never get the things I want in exactly how I want them, I’ll still be here, writing, creating, teaching — because it’s all I want to do on any given day.
In our conversation, Jezz talked about permitting oneself to go at one's own pace when it comes to building a dream — and how having a spiritual practice can be so supportive when it feels so far. I loved speaking to them because they embody this permission to dream: they clearly have big dreams and keep working towards them without being attached to a timeline. We need each other; we need examples of people working towards something despite self-doubt, limited energy, and how heavy the world can sometimes feel. It also helps to have a sense of humour about it all because sometimes choosing to commit creativity can feel like a big fat joke. In case you haven’t listened, you can find it here..
Our episode this week is with entrepreneur and author Dr Akilah Cadet, who shares what it's like living with rare genetic conditions, the challenges of being believed as a Black woman in the American healthcare system, and the impact of white supremacy in healthcare.
With love,
Nora x