March Madness, Day 1 (NOT ABOUT SPORTS)
A sequence of posts I decided to do on a whim yesterday as I sat in a coffee shop
Hear ye, hear ye!
Joshua Stewart Weed sat in a coffee shop yesterday afternoon, thinking.
He was in said coffee shop because, at around 4:00pm, he found himself very hungry, and having no comestibles on his person, decided that Curran coffee, the cute shop three or four doors down from his office run by two ambitious sisters who achieved the perfect aesthetic and vibe for a coffee shop and whose drinks are very delicious even to the point of being “to die for,” would be where he bought something to eat. And drink.
And it was good.
At first he was going to take his stuff to go so he could prepare for his last client of the day. But in the spirit of luxury and being kind to self, he realized : I like drinking my coffee and eating my peanut butter protein bar thingie (they are very delicious) in the coffee shop, with the music and the vibe and the nice feeling that comes when you are in a communal space without having to be communicative.
So, he did. He sat down. He enjoyed his beveragio. He ate his protein peanut butter thingie with relish. And while he was sitting there, a sequence of questions came into his mind that are the reason he is writing these words here, now. He will now reproduce exactly what he thumbed into his notes app between sips.
Things I want in my New Life of Creative Output—more time writing and reading in bookstores and cafes. More regularly publishing my work; publishing in Substack every day. Or most days.
What if it could be most days, in. a way that felt right?
In a way that felt okay and not scary?
What if that were possible?
I would truly love that.
What if it could be unruled by expectation, untied to fears?
What if I just fucking DID IT and let the cards fall as they may?
What if each pressing of “publish” was a gift to myself, a beautiful signal of limitlessness, driftlessness, openness, self-love, a luxury I offer myself, a safekeeping, a signal of my endless flow, of the abundance flowing always through me?
What if I did it and it felt different?
What. if it was exactly right?
What if it was the right thing, the best gift to myself I could possibly give?
What if it was an act of love that could be disconnected from fear, a beautiful non-fear-based act of self-care?
What if pressing publish every day was the self-care that I have long needed to feel connected to my truest self?
What if it is right to do this?
To be this?
To feel this?
What if it was part of the magnificent flow of my life?
What if it was the perfect offering to self, to younger self and older self?
What if I just did it, starting tomorrow, and didn’t stop?
How would it feel?
What if this was my commitment for 30 days?
What if I saw how it felt for 30 days—or all 31 days of March?
What if. I just gave myself this gift every morning, first thing?
What if I allowed myself to believe in the possibility of this?
And what if it blossomed into something so beautiful and beloved?
What if it became the magnificent portal to another world and another self?
A future self?
What if this has been waiting for me all along?
What if sometimes I even did it here on my phone?
What if this worked and allowed the Universe to work thru me in new ways?
I have always wanted this.
I have always wanted to give myself this gift.
What if I just opened up the screen each day and let myself pour out?
What if it changed everything in new and unexpected ways?
And with new resolve, he chugged the remainder of his delish beveragio, and chucked a small remainder of his peanut butter protein bar in the trash, then walked out the door and up the street to meet his last client of the day.
And now, with this post, he is completing DAY 1
(Welcome aboard this train you never new you’d gotten on, everyone. Wahoo! Should be an interesting month. For anyone curious, I will also be doing Nicole LePera’s very simple Future Self Journal alongside this daily practice. I have done it before and it has shift things dramatically for me. I found this helpful guide on how to do it for anyone wanting to slowly, thoroughly, and effectively use this tool to move towards your best future self this month as well.) Also, while most days will be organic, I am going to give myself permission to post some nearly-finished drafts that got stuck during the blocky-times of last year if I end up wanting to do that.
And in case anyone is wondering, I am feeling very proud of following through with this first day (arguably the hardest step of this kind of thing), and it really truly does feel like the most lovely gift to myself to do so.
Thanks so much for being here <3
Joshua