"I am yet learning." I feel this in my soul. A mournful thing for Michaelangelo to cry out on his deathbed, but also a source of hope. Learning--and breathing--until the last moment.
Thanks for teaching and sharing, Linda. I'm still a baby on Substack, which I figure means I can only keep growing.
Isn't it? Da Vinci's last words were that he has disappointed god and mankind and that breaks my heart. And you're absolutely right, you will only keep growing, absolutely!
I was having lunch at work one day, with a handful of other folks. An 80-year-old man whose name I have forgotten and wish I didn’t, swung a leg over the aluminum bench he was sitting on, slapped his knees, and said, “Well, youngins, I’ve been so blessed.” Then he slumped and fell with a widowmaker heart attack.
I’ve always thought about what my last words would be because that memory was so profound it shifted my world view toward genuine gratitude. I don’t know about my last words, but I have thought at length about my headstone. Best I could come up with is, “I’m cold.”
This was such a good reminder for me. As someone who is just starting on here, I really love reading your work. It connects with me. I’ll definitely be looking at my bio to see if I can make it more specific, that’s a great idea. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Lilyana, I'm glad you enjoyed. I think if you take out your second sentence and switch the third sentence to topics (instead of essays, rants) you'll see a jump in response. Hope you don't mind me suggesting that :)
Love the way you write. You're giving great tips here yet don't write in a sales, marketing, biz coach kind of way. What you're saying is woven into beautiful heart felt writing. I really appreciate thar. And thanks for the tip!
Thank you, Linda, for that thoughtful post. Since I'm only 10 weeks new, there's really so much to learn about writing and engaging on Substack. Fortunately, at 81, I have the time to invest. And, learning has always been the thing I most love to do. So, there you go, or there I go might be more appropriate! Blue
<<Did you know the human brain makes decisions from the part of the brain that has no language? The reptilian brain is the decider. It looks and gets a feeling. And then words have to work ten times harder to undo that feeling.>>
And this explains a lot about what's happening in the world right now!
Thank you! That gave me a lot to think about, and I hope I can act (or write) on it. I have such a strange bio (opera singer, teacher, mother, married 4...yes, four! times, great-grandmother, published poet and mystery writer....) I have no idea how to make that appealing. Maybe by saying that my favorite role was "Carmen?" Or my favorite oratorio was Verdi's "Requiem?" Or my favorite books are The Narnia Series by C.S.Lewis? I guess I could start with one of those...
You are just fabulous. It's very rare I love almost everything someone writes. Yours and Big Think are two of my favorite substacks at the moment...Going to recommend you now. Thanks for doing you.
I just started publishing on Substack, which I love for soooo many reasons, and attempted one post on Medium... which after using Substack was an underwhelming process.
Somehow in the midst of all this newness I found your content for writers, which I must have been drawn to because you somehow manage to do both platforms competently.
I don't want to neglect Medium because I'm certain there are people there that would align with what I have to share, but I have not spent the time yet to get past the opaque process of figuring out how to post on Medium productively.
Maybe after Substack I'm just expecting too much functionality? Or, I am just being obtuse in this particular matter (which is certainly within the realm of possibility).
The one thing that seems appealing about Medium over Substack, at least currently, is a wider range of established categories, so I'm not ready to throw it out the window just yet.
I seem to recall that you had a way to perhaps book a private session to discuss writing matters, but I am not sure where that was. Could you please point me in the right direction for that?
On week 2 of being here and at first I'll admit I was confused about the publication area versus the profile where you post Notes, so I dumped a short bio in there and moved on because I'm still figuring things out. Seeing lots of other people's work and their profiles, I now get how important getting the bio right is. Thank you, this was moving yet encouraging at the same time!
I appreciate the note to use more pictures. I have been adding more of those since I read a post from somebody who said her brain was overwhelmed by too many blocks of text. Letting myself be fully seen feels scary, but I appreciate the encouragement to do it. I'm definitely trying to create a vibe -- and if you have feedback on my bio, I would welcome that!
The older I get, the less I know. Learning is my favorite thing to do.
I'm so over Plath (we all are mentally ill now), and I don't do Atwood (don't care much for the genre) at all. They are both good writers, but with the birth of globalism and computers, people are missing so many voices, so many cultures!
I'm not a wealthy person, and don't like flying much, so I figure that's how I can experience the world.
I love your piece, especially the part about connection. It's necessary for us to connect and to create. We were made that way, and all of our words are precious because without them, we would all be so alone.
"I am yet learning." I feel this in my soul. A mournful thing for Michaelangelo to cry out on his deathbed, but also a source of hope. Learning--and breathing--until the last moment.
Thanks for teaching and sharing, Linda. I'm still a baby on Substack, which I figure means I can only keep growing.
Isn't it? Da Vinci's last words were that he has disappointed god and mankind and that breaks my heart. And you're absolutely right, you will only keep growing, absolutely!
I was having lunch at work one day, with a handful of other folks. An 80-year-old man whose name I have forgotten and wish I didn’t, swung a leg over the aluminum bench he was sitting on, slapped his knees, and said, “Well, youngins, I’ve been so blessed.” Then he slumped and fell with a widowmaker heart attack.
I’ve always thought about what my last words would be because that memory was so profound it shifted my world view toward genuine gratitude. I don’t know about my last words, but I have thought at length about my headstone. Best I could come up with is, “I’m cold.”
This was such a good reminder for me. As someone who is just starting on here, I really love reading your work. It connects with me. I’ll definitely be looking at my bio to see if I can make it more specific, that’s a great idea. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Lilyana, I'm glad you enjoyed. I think if you take out your second sentence and switch the third sentence to topics (instead of essays, rants) you'll see a jump in response. Hope you don't mind me suggesting that :)
No I don’t mind at all, thank you so much! I touched up all my bios to make them more clear. Thank you for the suggestion!
Love the way you write. You're giving great tips here yet don't write in a sales, marketing, biz coach kind of way. What you're saying is woven into beautiful heart felt writing. I really appreciate thar. And thanks for the tip!
Thank you so much Anna. I think I probably tried all those voices but they didn't fit me so I dropped them in the trash. lol. Glad you enjoyed this :)
Thank you, Linda, for that thoughtful post. Since I'm only 10 weeks new, there's really so much to learn about writing and engaging on Substack. Fortunately, at 81, I have the time to invest. And, learning has always been the thing I most love to do. So, there you go, or there I go might be more appropriate! Blue
Very thoughtful and interesting, gives me pause on how I present myself here.
<<Did you know the human brain makes decisions from the part of the brain that has no language? The reptilian brain is the decider. It looks and gets a feeling. And then words have to work ten times harder to undo that feeling.>>
And this explains a lot about what's happening in the world right now!
Yes, about those Substack categories. I am one of a number of garden writers on Substack who are clamoring for a gardening category.
Thank you. Very useful. I'll be changing my bio asap..
Thank you! That gave me a lot to think about, and I hope I can act (or write) on it. I have such a strange bio (opera singer, teacher, mother, married 4...yes, four! times, great-grandmother, published poet and mystery writer....) I have no idea how to make that appealing. Maybe by saying that my favorite role was "Carmen?" Or my favorite oratorio was Verdi's "Requiem?" Or my favorite books are The Narnia Series by C.S.Lewis? I guess I could start with one of those...
You are just fabulous. It's very rare I love almost everything someone writes. Yours and Big Think are two of my favorite substacks at the moment...Going to recommend you now. Thanks for doing you.
I'm pretty much a Substack newbie with 20 subscribers and few comments. You make a lot of sense. Off to look at my bio.
I just started publishing on Substack, which I love for soooo many reasons, and attempted one post on Medium... which after using Substack was an underwhelming process.
Somehow in the midst of all this newness I found your content for writers, which I must have been drawn to because you somehow manage to do both platforms competently.
I don't want to neglect Medium because I'm certain there are people there that would align with what I have to share, but I have not spent the time yet to get past the opaque process of figuring out how to post on Medium productively.
Maybe after Substack I'm just expecting too much functionality? Or, I am just being obtuse in this particular matter (which is certainly within the realm of possibility).
The one thing that seems appealing about Medium over Substack, at least currently, is a wider range of established categories, so I'm not ready to throw it out the window just yet.
I seem to recall that you had a way to perhaps book a private session to discuss writing matters, but I am not sure where that was. Could you please point me in the right direction for that?
On week 2 of being here and at first I'll admit I was confused about the publication area versus the profile where you post Notes, so I dumped a short bio in there and moved on because I'm still figuring things out. Seeing lots of other people's work and their profiles, I now get how important getting the bio right is. Thank you, this was moving yet encouraging at the same time!
I appreciate the note to use more pictures. I have been adding more of those since I read a post from somebody who said her brain was overwhelmed by too many blocks of text. Letting myself be fully seen feels scary, but I appreciate the encouragement to do it. I'm definitely trying to create a vibe -- and if you have feedback on my bio, I would welcome that!
The older I get, the less I know. Learning is my favorite thing to do.
I'm so over Plath (we all are mentally ill now), and I don't do Atwood (don't care much for the genre) at all. They are both good writers, but with the birth of globalism and computers, people are missing so many voices, so many cultures!
I'm not a wealthy person, and don't like flying much, so I figure that's how I can experience the world.
I love your piece, especially the part about connection. It's necessary for us to connect and to create. We were made that way, and all of our words are precious because without them, we would all be so alone.
Thank you!
Your words and years of experience to those of us who do want to touch hearts as well as minds and make a positive connection. Thank you.