Reflection and Metamorphosis

As demonstrated in nature, sometimes isolation is a necessary part of the developmental process. There’s nothing wrong when a person chooses to occasionally go into seclusion (unless they’re doing so for criminal reasons). The danger, however comes when the place one retreats to serves more as a coffin than a chrysalis. My online activity has grown increasingly sporadic in recent months as my the wings of my creativity undergo metamorphosis. Yet, I feel it’s important to give my online friends, followers and readers an update as to what I’ve been up to.

Lately I’ve experienced things that, for a while, made me feel as though my world had been thrown off its axis. The exact details are too painful and personal to present to such a public arena, but I can say that it was enough to reevaluate many aspects of my life—past and present—as I contemplate my plans for the future. After the clouds of confusion cleared, I was left with a better sense of how I should proceed going forward. Though life-changing as those events were, they have led me to appreciate all that is right in my life and all that is beautiful in the world (which still spins resiliently), despite the attempts by some to disrupt the aforementioned in some way or another.

Furthermore, recent national and world events have prompted me to dig deep and examine the effectiveness of what I’ve been doing up until this point as well as contemplate what I hope to accomplish in the future and how I hope to affect the world around me. I’d like that affect, no matter how great or small, to be positive and powerful enough to inspire others to recognize and perpetuate the goodness life still has to offer. This led me to consider my humble oeuvre to date and whether or not my method adequately conveys my desired message. Admittedly, my work features darkness and psychological horror despite the fact each piece is generally born from a desire to uplift and motivate the discouraged. I’ve found that the most effective way to accomplish this is to include familiar themes pertinent in the real world in order to make my stories more tangible to the reader. The downside, however, is the danger of getting lost in reality and losing one’s way to the realm of their imagination. This is what has happened to me. My creative purpose remains as vivid as ever, but the path to reach it has been obscured by reality, itself.

Through it all, I’ve been jotting down exciting ideas in addition to working on projects that will undoubtedly demand much time and research in order to execute properly. I’m still working on dozens of short stories as well as a few novels and on top of all that, I still have to revamp two of my websites and I’m getting the itch to work on some new sketches. The creativity and desire is still there, I’m just a little apprehensive as to how I’ll ensure that the final products will adequately reflect my intent.

I have also grown to understand that while some real-life mysteries are alluring, too much introversion can make a person appear, as one acquaintance put it, intimidating. The same could possibly be said of my chronically introverted demeanor. Therefore, I’ll do my best to share a little more of myself in the future while loosening my grip on perfectionism. I know it won’t be easy to break habits that have taken root over the course of many years, but I know it’s at least worth trying. In the meantime, I’ll continue to gain insight and inspiration from life and attempt to convert it into something magical.

I’ll close by expressing how much I deeply value each and every one of my online friends, followers and readers who remain patient and supportive regardless of how frequently I’m able to blog or connect through social media. You reinforce my desire to persevere through any challenge that comes my way and to produce the very best content my mind can conceive. Thank you!