Posting on Substack can feel a bit like sending a message in a bottle. It feels both hopeful, and potentially hopeless. So far I’ve sent out 26 bottles. This post is #27.
Every time I send one off, I have no idea if anyone will read it, let alone enjoy it. This thought is simultaneously freeing and paralyzing. Freeing, because I figure, what have I got to lose (besides time and pride)? And paralyzing because what if nobody sees/likes/comments/shares what I write?
But then I remind myself why I write, and why I share what I write…
But first, we interrupt our usual programming for a brilliant gift idea:
Give friends and family (and yourself!) a paid subscription to Briefly between now and January 1st and receive a 20% discount! This makes a great Christmas, Hanukkah, or NYE gift because (1) you won’t have to deal with shopping crowds, (2) it’ll get to them by Christmas, and (3) you’ll be supporting the arts!
Just think, for less than a dollar a week you can send someone weekly entertainment/inspiration (which we may all really need in 2025) and feel good about giving a meaningful gift. What’s not to love about that?
Now we resume our regular (but related) programming…
What was I saying? Oh yeah… It’s easy to wonder if what I do here matters.
Writing helps me make sense of the world, or at least explore the messy tangle of feelings and experiences and questions that crop up as I move through my life.
But I also believe the arts tap into a shared and universal need for meaning and purpose in life. We all experience a messy tangle of feelings and experiences and questions that crop up as we move through life.
Creative expressions (whether via a story, poem, film, song, dance, and so on) are like wormholes that have the ability to transport us to new (or old) places, and provide us with different, unexpected, and fantastic ways of seeing the world or maybe even other worlds.
This is why I write. I want to entertain, untangle, and transport. It’s not about me; it’s about all of us. So far I’ve written about floating in space, time travel and grief, a nightmare about Fear, a woman who works in a spoon factory, the art of giving, memory, undercover agents, empathy, love, sadness, and much more. Writing (and reading) is like an open door, a roadmap, a life raft, or a message in a bottle; anything is possible and mysteries may be revealed! All this reminds us we’re alive. Art is life. Art is truth.
When you subscribe to Briefly you get a new poem, story or essay every Friday morning in your inbox. If emails drive you crazy because you get too many, then consider getting the app or bookmark the website and visit Briefly that way instead, at your leisure. You can also follow me on Instagram @brieflyig to see the songs I pair with each post.
I hope that every once in awhile something here brings you some joy in whatever ocean you find yourself swimming in or tossing messages into. If Briefly can provide a portal to feeling something you need to feel, even if you didn’t know you needed to feel it, and then you go about your day with a bit more verve and vigor, then mission accomplished and you’re welcome!
But more importantly, THANK YOU for being here and reading to this point… sharing… gifting… subscribing… liking… commenting… it all helps Briefly reach more people.
Happy Holidays, Be Well, & Cheers! - Ashley