Welcome Home

You have been through a

Long journey

You have crossed the

Most difficult terrains

Encountering the violent weather

Parched from the dessert

Heat from the rainforest

Your clothes are drenched

Your skin is dry

Your feet full of blisters

Welcome home

Now dear

Take a rest

Deep full breaths

Sip some tea

Let’s put a warm blanket

around your body

You are here

At the right place

And you are always

On time

In the Studio

It’s four days left before I take the train on Friday evening to London. Then an early morning flight on Saturday will take me all the way from London to Chicago O’Hare Airport where Brett’s dad will be waiting.

We are due to spend less than a day with his parents in the suburb, just outside of Chicago.

Then, an early morning drive on Sunday will take back us to Chicago O’Hare Airport again for a flight to San Francisco, where our second hosts, Brett’s brother and wife, will be waiting.

That means, by the time you get this message, I will be getting ready to get on my second flight, baggy eyes and all.

But look at me. Touring around the United States, kind of. I am happy to be with my American boyfriend, who has family there. It means I have a really good excuse to go back frequently. Experience the City life and immerse myself into a different culture.

A time to really get outside of myself to meet reflections of the external world that exist beyond my own.

Brett and his presence alone, gets me out of the house. That’s just the kind of person he is. He loves to stay active. He goes on lots of walks. He gets me out of my own world. He is very much a good influence, although the amount of travelling he does gives me FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) sometimes.

If you get to know Brett, you would realise how much he loves travelling.

When we got together, I very much saw that if there is one thing that gives back to him so much energy and appreciation for being alive in this world- it’s travelling.

Since I started pursuing my dreams, I’ve become a messy person.

The mess can wait if it means the idea is completed or explored.

I don’t do it intentionally. I just seem to forget everything else around me when I really have something I want to focus on.

And a week before this trip, I suddenly found myself working on this newsletter, rather than packing.

What else is there to do but write, as I felt compelled to do?

That is the thing about doing the work.

There is no other way around it.

The writer must write.

The speaker must speak.

The artist must draw.

The traveller must travel.

The identity itself is a label. We just do what must be done.

And to give time to what makes us feel alive always has a trade off.

For me this week, it’s the lack of sleep.

We don’t have graduation in creativity or entrepreneurship.

We don’t have right or wrong answers.

Artists rarely compete with each other but instead we compete with themselves.

And ever since I started asking questions about:

* how can I create paintings that resemble the feelings from my heart?

* or writing that stirs my soul?

* or questions about how I can let go off this idea that to be an artist means we must always act from a place of being wounded, or naive or being too introverted or too extroverted?

* and how to just let my expression be as diverse as my interests themselves?

Ever since I started asking these kinds of questions, I’ve never been able to look back.

I’ve become addicted to learning as an adult.

Learning as an adult on the journey of pursuing dreams is like playing a video game.

Every level completed gives a boost of confidence that this isn’t so bad after all.

That it is possible. I can do it.

And the deeper I go, the more I realise perfection is overrated.

It prevents one from learning.

It prevents one from taking risks and doing things.

It prevents one from experimenting.

And ultimately, it prevents one from growing and keeping an open mind in life.

We try to have everything in order but chaos has been the fundamental birthplace of our solar system.

So if you feel like you’re definitely not doing things correctly or that you are making things up in your own life, congratulations.

I’ll let you in on a secret. This whole newsletter thing? I don’t have this figured out.

But isn’t that how unexpected discoveries happen? You know, the stuff we tell stories about?

If you want to hear more about imperfection, I talk about it in this Youtube video. You can find it on the link below:

Some housekeeping refreshers:

* Firstly, check out this page if you have forgotten who I am.

* I am using Substack to publish this newsletter. You will start receiving from right here in your inbox. Alternatively, you can check out Substack website or on the Substack app to read and listen to the full archives.

* The audio file is also being broadcasted as a podcast so if you prefer, you can find it and follow on Apple Podcast and also on Spotify.

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With love,

Win

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