For a long time now I have felt stuck. Caged inside some creative purgatory that has required way too much effort to free myself from. Between the incessant distractions of today's media, the dependencies to substances I've only strengthened over the past few years, and the gnawing financial pressures of modern life, making progress towards my creative goals and business ventures has been a narrow slough. The more my mind juggles doomsday headlines, stock market volatility, and Instagram reel stars the more I wave my white flag in defeat. I know I can carve my own way, but I need to be brave. I need to be more expressive, more willing to fall on my face, answer to conflict, catch others off-guard and just stand behind the messy process of figuring it out. I've been doing that more but it's still behind a privacy wall, still 'not ready', still crystallizing. Damn this slow burn is starting to be detrimental rather than diligent.