Finding a Creative Home
The Memo for March 25, 2025
“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.’”
― Hugh MacLeod
It’s been the better part of three months since I published an installment of The Memo. There are a a few reasons for that. My body hasn’t cooperated well. I’ve been down sick for several days three times since December. And life here in the good old United States has been super weird and stressful. But, rather than publishing more written work here, I’ve spent a lot of time this year moving my creative content hosted elsewhere here to Substack, under the umbrella of The Manifest.
In the spring of 2019, I launched a long-form interview podcast called The Path to Authenticity. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only was it a great way to channel my creative energy, it quite literally changed my life. It gave me an great reason to approach people I didn’t know, and initiate conversations.
Before the podcast, when I went to an art show, I would browse around and admire what I saw. After I launched the show, when I attended such an event, I would strike up a conversation with artists and gallerists, and invite them to be guests on the podcast. Sometimes they became friends, like the fine-art photographer Safaa Kagan, who I interviewed twice.
When I encountered authors and therapists and healers who interested me on social media, I messaged them and asked for interviews. That’s how I met the grief therapist Gina Moffa, who wrote Moving On Doesn’t Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss.
When I read The New York Times Book Review, on Sundays, I looked for authors promoting their new books. That’s how I met the journalist Erica C. Barnett, who wrote Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery.
After producing weekly episodes of The Path to Authenticity for four years, and having created several other podcasts, I was a little burned out. I decided to take a break from producing podcasts and focus on writing. That’s when I launched The Manifest. Now, a couple years in on this platform, and with a little head of steam, I’m ready to get back to some podcasting, this time with video.
Eventually, I’ll pick up where I left off with The Path to Authenticity. I also want to produce some video episodes of what I describe as a spinoff from it, called 20 Questions. You’ll notice a new newsletter of the same name under The Manifest umbrella. There, you can find 14 podcast episodes where I pose the same set of questions to each guest, as well as many more text posts where guests from the original podcast answer the same 20 questions in written form.
Lastly, for several years now, I’ve toyed with the idea of a podcast focused on life in long-term recovery. So, in the coming weeks I’ll begin work on a new show called The Sober Path.
In the meantime, I’m working on a few personal essays that I’ll share more on soon.
Unsettled (adjective)
not settled: such as
not calm or tranquil : DISTURBED
not decided or determined : DOUBTFUL
likely to vary widely especially in the near future
Journaling Prompt for March 25, 2025
Describe how you demonstrate creativity in ways that don’t involve areas of artistic expression.
You can find links to the podcasts I mentioned, as well as a couple others, on the bottom right of the homepage. You can also listen on most major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Thank you for being here, especially those of you who are new. Please leave a comment, letting me know who and where you are.
Best,
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