THE 52 DAYS PROJECT
At the end of last year I was tapped out. On every level – physically, emotionally, mentally and
spiritually had totally and utterly exhausted myself. The well as they say was not only dry but arid.
I joked with Mac a couple of times that come December 26th I would just collapse in a heap and not move for a month or two. I didn’t realise at the time how true that statement would actually be. (And perhaps a timely reminder to be careful what you put out into the universe!)
I can’t really describe how it felt to be that empty – I don’t think I have ever before, but I do remember everything felt much hard than it should’ve. Simple things like choosing what to wear or making my breakfast seemed like a mammoth task. And I remember feeling tired. So so tired which was crazy because I know I slept a lot!
I tried to be gentle with myself. To not be too critical about my lack of energy, my lack of creativity, my lack of emotional interest in anything. But it’s hard to not feel inadequate and worthless when you don’t even have the mental energy to focus on stopping those ugly inner voices that rise to the surface as such times.
So back to the 52 DAYS PROJECT.
During this time, for no real reason, I started to write down words that resonated with me. Words from songs, interviews, books or podcasts. Words that floated through my 3am dreams. Ugly words, inspiring words, heartfelt words. Words that made me cry and words that made me laugh, words to aspire to and that inspired me, words that made me feel and words that made me want to not feel.
In the end I had this crazy long list of words. And I the more I looked at my list, the more I felt compelled to create something with it. It couldn’t just stay in the back of my notebook…
So I realised I wanted to some how illustrate these words. But I didn’t want to bind myself to one style or one medium. I knew with these words that I connected with so strongly, I wanted to spend up to a year exploring different techniques and different styles, and illustrating these words. And so began the “52 weeks list”.
But subconsciously I’ve always called it the 52 days project. And when I talked about it, it was the 52 Days project. I didn’t know why – I even renamed it back to 52 weeks for this post. But in writing to you about the reasons behind this project I realised is of course the 52 DAYS project.
It’s that damned synchronicity at play again. 52 days. I took almost 52 days to start feeling like I could reconnect with myself again. It took almost 52 days to not feel quite so tired and start feeling inspired again. It took almost 52 days to start planning and playing and creating again.
And I guess that’s why the 52 Days Project is one of those projects that is super special, and feels really exciting to create.
So get ready to see more of the 52 Days Project over the coming months. I can’t wait to share more than just snippets of this very special and personal project with you.
#the52daysproject