Dear Friends,

Thank you for subscribing — and more importantly, opening this first letter. I’ve let you down by not writing to you sooner. No empty promises, but I hope to write to you more often…if you’ll still have me 🙂

During this strange time, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect and discover what I value most — connecting and sharing. When you strip everything away, all of life’s distractions, what’s left? What keeps you going? For me, it’s connections with family and friends via virtual happy hours, game nights over Zoom, waving hello to strangers while walking in my neighborhood.

I’ve been approaching each day as a scientist or inventor might… testing out new routines, new ways to connect, finding happiness in simple things like a good book or a walk outside. Every day is another opportunity to start over, try something new, and see how it works. It’s almost a game, with no real consequences for failure, as long as I learn from the experience. We may not be always conscious of it, but we all run tiny experiments every day, every time we try something new.

One tiny experiment I’m exploring is the concept of “Morning Pages”, shared by Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way. It’s very basic and easy to start. It’s simply the practice of writing three pages every morning about whatever comes to mind, your stream of consciousness. No filter. No topic. Just let it flow. There’s no wrong way to do it. It’s anything that crosses your mind.

I wasn’t expecting much from this, but let me tell you — it’s refreshing! It’s amazing some of the insights that have emerged. And even on days without eureka moments, it’s helpful to brain dump and get my thought clutter down on paper. A meditation or renewal to start your day. 

I encourage you to try it. Just grab any old notebook and simply write whatever comes up for you.

I plan to continue this quest of exploration, testing, and learning throughout all areas of my life — self-reflection, relationships, productivity, creative pursuits, wellness… you name it. My goal is to pursue a life of learning, free from the fear of failure. If you always aim for improvement and learning, you are much less likely to fail.

If you enjoyed reading this letter, please reply to this email with a simple “Y” for yes. It would help me greatly to know that I’ve connected with you. If you’d like to connect further, drop me a note at kristin@kristindehmer.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Love and hugs,
Kristin