One of my dear writing friends wrote to me recently, saying that she thought she shouldn’t be blogging because she felt that her semi-regular posts which touched on a range of topics made it look as though she had five personalities.

‘Your posts don’t strike me as being inconsistent at all,’ I reassured her. ‘If anything, I think they beautifully represent the truth of the artist’s journey which is rarely linear, sometimes chaotic, but always meaningful.’

I carried on with my email, letting her know that all was going well with me, adding that ‘Of course, when I say things are going well, I mean rarely linear, sometimes chaotic, but always meaningful.’

It was meant as a playful reference to my earlier comment, but I can’t stop thinking about how much truth there is to that statement.

‘The artist’s journey is rarely linear, sometimes chaotic, but always meaningful.’

km lambert

Our journey or career or life is rarely linear. So often it feels like we’re playing a giant game of snakes and ladders where the snakes always seem to have the upper hand.

We might be so full of creative energy that we stay up til the wee hours of the morning because we just have to get all the ideas down on the page before they evaporate. And then the next day we might struggle to get 50 words down on the page. I’m sure we’ve all been there.

What struck me most, though, was the idea that it is always meaningful. That whatever we do or experience or conquer or battle against is always worth something. I’m not suggesting that there is a reason for everything (depending on your perspective that’s either semantics or a completely different kettle of fish; either way, I’m not getting into that here). Rather, it’s a simple reminder to myself to stay the course, push through the creativity funk, and trust that it will all come together.

Thank you, dear friend.