For the Birds: June nourishment

Building a self-hype floorplan. Plus BIRDSEED, this month's publishing-themed Resiliency Circle, and a few words about Creative Mentorship.

Thanks for being here! Paid readers directly support the growth and longevity of this project, and that’s true whether your subscription lasts for one year or many years or a couple of months. Our ability to support each other ebbs and flows, and that’s not a bad thing.

When you can—and for however long or short you’re able to—thank you for reading closely, sharing widely, and upgrading to a paid subscription.

---

Dear birds,

I think a lot about publishing, and I spiral through different kinds of feelings about it:

• That I want NOTHING to do with external validation.

• That I want, more than anything, to finally publish my first real book. (“Real”?! Chapbooks are real too, honey.)

• That I’m not even sure I care about the arbitrary shape of a “full-length” collection.

My feelings don’t stay put, and neither do I.

But beneath all the noise of acclaim and validation, I think this kind of desire is really about wanting to be seen in my purpose. Wanting to form connections with readers & fellow writers. Wanting to share my few designated gifts with the world. Wanting to be in dialogue with a creative community.

Maybe you want that, too?

When I think about it this way, I realize it’s a beautiful desire, not a wholly corrupt or conditioned one.

Still, I’m a deep-feeling, sensitive human, and the failures and arbitrary unspoken rules can sting. How do I protect this beautiful desire when things like misunderstanding and rejection are not only common, but feel extra tremendously painful?

It’s easiest for me to answer that question by thinking about what I’d tell a client. I’d argue that the most important and sustainable thing you can do—that each of us must do—is maintain close contact with what Brenda Ueland calls the “intrinsic reward”: That innermost part of you that experiences satisfaction and deep worldly pleasure in response to your creative pursuits.

She’s talking about the personal, private experiences that have nothing to do with how you’re received by the world, experiences that usually come long before we’re taught to measure our worth in gold stars, grades, or applause.

Your creativity—yes, yours—is for the world; you have things to offer, things worth saying, and impact waiting to be had.

But first and foremost: Your creativity is for you.

The way it fills your heart. And fuels your thinking. And hones your attention. And amplifies your intuition: Creativity promises to do and bring so much wonder and joy into your life. And that’s a relationship you get to have no matter what any other person thinks about it.

trying to meet myself exactly where i’m at

This is the part where I remind you that I love to bring all these ideas to life in real time through Creative Mentorship. If you’re craving gentle support with transformative impact, here are a few things that working together 1:1 can help you do:

• Embrace play and curiosity in your writing and creative practices—not as luxuries, but as fluencies that deepen both your artistry and your joy.

• Let go of rigid expectations and outdated rules, so you can move with more freedom, experiment boldly, and start making work that truly lights you up.

• Trade external approval for a well-rooted trust in your own creative voice and instincts.

• Create more often and more easily, so that your artistry nourishes not just your projects but your everyday life.

I’m biased, but I also think it’s true: Everyone benefits from a more spacious and intentional relationship with their creativity—it just makes life bigger.

If you’re curious about what this kind of support could look like for you, let’s chat!*

xoxo,

S

*Consultations are always nourishing + free.

---

BIRDSEED

~a monthly playlist, curated by M: world’s best editor / partner / cat dad~

---

June Resiliency Circle: “Publishing 101”

~Wednesday, June 25th at 9:30am PST / 12:30pm EST, on the new moon in Cancer~

The Resiliency Circle is a once-a-month virtual space I hold for paid readers of For the Birds. Born from my belief that we need strengths-based, trauma-informed lenses in our creative practices as much as our therapeutic ones, I craft these 60-90 minute gatherings so that they’re nourishing, generative, and fun.

This month, let’s gather for an hour and chat about the strange, beautiful, optional journey of sending our creative work out into the world.

I’ll be sharing my own idiosyncratic and deeply personal thoughts on the matter—from logistics and how-to’s to emotional insights and thoughts on maintaining healthy boundaries with rejection.

Dear Birds: I AM NOT A PUBLISHING EXPERT, and this will very much be a 101-style talk. I’ve experienced many, many rejections over the years, as well as a handful of acceptances that I am increasingly proud of.

The first half of our gathering will function like a talk, where I’ll walk us through some publishing basics and the related thoughts & beliefs I’ve cultivated over the years. The second half will be your chance to share reflections, ask questions, and give voice to your own hard-earned wisdom, alternative frameworks, or the sticky feelings that could use some empathetic witnessing.

Let’s build a collective pool of knowledge and insight! Let’s be together and then walk away feeling a little less bad about this complicated topic.

→ Zoom link + RSVP included at the bottom of today’s newsletter.

---

Your Self-Hype Floorplan

~a thorough & compassionate exercise~

This month’s creative exercise is inspired by some recently impactful 1:1 client work! As a proactive measure of self-care and re-grounding, you’re going to make a Self-Hype Floorplan.¹

What’s that?

A Self-Hype Floorplan is a directory of all the best things about you, something simple and clear you can return to when you need a reminder of your worth, your capacities, and your positive self-regard.

If that sounds like a tall ask, don’t worry: We’ll create this floorplan one category at a time, with prompting from me to help you capture the details.

Let’s begin!