I’m here. I showed up. Ideas for this blog have been swirling around in my headspace for two days, and I have notes scribbled in the margins of my lists and journal pages to remind me to tell you about the things. Then today I had exciting conversations and ran important errands and cooked yummy meals and conducted all sorts of shenanigans and wondered where the day went.

Speaking of misplaced things, I can’t find my little fat composition book that holds the most important fodder for this blog post, and my inner critic, Lolitta, starts in on me about procrastinating and questions my ability to commit and follow through on creative projects. She gets so loud. Bless her heart. She is just looking out for me and doesn’t want to see me get hurt. So, she explains that if I’d only sat down to write the blog before I went to pick up the free desk (yay creative reuse opportunities!), then my notebook would have been right in front of the laptop instead of in one of the bins where I loaded up the contents of my old desk this afternoon in order to switch it out with the new-to-me desk that is still not in order because I spent the evening having amazing creative conversations that light my life. At the very least she says I should have prioritized blogging over engaging in unplanned calls.

Thank you, Lolitta. Your devotion and guidance is noted and filed accordingly, but as I type this, I realize this day has created the exact conditions to get here at 9:17 p.m. in front of the computer without much of a plan typing this story to ship out into the world for no other reason than I said I would show up here on Fridays and see where the creative energy takes me.

I had a plan to talk about perception and some of the juicy questions I’ve met in my ruminations. The topic has crept into much of my conversation, expression and reflection this week. You know the line “Your perception creates your reality,” and all that? There are bookoodles of variations and spin-offs to this, and I could go chasing rabbits to find the proper attributions but then this blog probably won’t get published on Friday. I’m choosing to keep it simple.

I go through my days using sensory input, memories and experiences, knowledge and intuition to experience and interact with the world around me. It is the human thing to do. My perception informs my relationship with the world as it exists. That relationship exists only with me. You have a different relationship with the world as informed by your own sensory input, memories and experiences, knowledge and intuition, and it exists only with you. We grow when make space for each others’ perception and reality. I share stories about my relationship with the world and how I keep showing up to see what it is serving because I need to share stories. Writing is my primary channel for expression and having conversations helps me evolve my eyes, my ears, my voice, my relationships. It helps me clear the lense, set the frame and choose my focus, and the sharing part is my way of making space for you to do the same.

I’d love to hear where this lands for you. What sort of filter may be on your lens? How are you framing this shot? Is your picture in focus? Drop a line in the comments or send me a private email if it feels right.