THE LIGHT LETTER
Welcome to this issue of The Light Letter, a weekly roundup of inspiration. Worried about showing up in the wrong way? Don’t sweat it, this boy showed up as Elvis instead of an elf to his school play and still smashed it. This week we’ve got inspiration from one of the worlds most beloved chefs, 9 great end of year journaling prompts, and a reason to take action.
Carry on.
Deep Dive: Lead with action
Vincent van Gogh was fired from being an art gallery clerk.
He quit a bookstore. Failed the entry exams to be a preacher, couldn’t make it as a teacher, and was fired from as a Lay Pastor for being “too passionate.”
He didn’t paint in his early life because he didn’t believe he was talented.
He didn’t start painting until he was 27. And once he started, he never stopped. He never quit. In a moment of clarity he writes to his brother and says “I don't want the city any longer, I want the country; I don't want an office, I want to paint.”
He went on to create over 900 paintings, often a painting a day, in just 10 years. He became one of the most prolific artists in history, even though he saw no financial success from his work.
He found something we all hope to find: a true purpose. Knowing something is right even if you won’t be paid for it is a special kind of conviction. And van Gogh, despite his struggles with mental health, understood the importance of action.
In the same year he wrote to his brother:
“If you hear a voice within you saying, ‘You are not a painter,’ then by all means paint, boy — and that voice will be silenced, but only by working.”
A lot of people have the wrong success loop in their mind; I’ll be struck by a bolt of inspiration and motivation, they think.
But inspiration rarely visits unless you make a room for it.
And doubt finds it’s home within inaction.
You can let that doubt - ‘you aren’t, you aren’t, you aren’t’ - win the fight. Or you can know what van Gogh discovered: “That voice (of doubt) will be silenced, but only by working.”
As Rumi said, “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” Not before.
This Week’s Inspiration
Clarity comes from doing, a wonderful (and appropriately paired) short post by Stephanie Tyler.
I loved these 9 end of year reflection prompts.
Anthony Bourdain said “I would like to teach people to read books that I love. I would like to convince young minds that this is an important book that will be worthwhile and fun to read.”
In this video he mentions a few of those books and now I want to read them all. I listed the them below :)
Orwells Essays
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Forrest’s Notebook
“There are those who are shallow intentionally and only profound by accident.” -Emily Dickinson
What does it look like to be profound intentionally. To lean into the side of me that seeks for wisdom, that searches for new, that tries to listen, and for a moment, if lucky, is able to translate a sentence of the universe to paper.
Until next time,
Live your light.