Dear Reader,  ⁣

‘I’m leaving Instagram because I wish to live deliberately.’ – Xandra Robinson-Burns (feat. Henry David Thoreau) 🌲⁣

For years I’ve been chiselling at social media, trying to use it ~my way~. I’m a minimalist, always asking myself, how can this be simpler? hey self, I whisper, what’s really simple, is to log out of Instagram, for good.  😉 And you know what? Just the thought of leaving makes me feel AMAZING!⁣

I’m wary of screens, and not just for eye strain, or even the addictiveness. In the 1841 essay ‘Self-Reliance,’ Ralph Waldo Emerson warns against ‘screens’ of conformity: popular opinion, institutions, or organisations that cannot fully represent the individual.  ⁣

On Instagram, I’m off balance. I’m more distracted and reactive than I’d like to be. It may be right for you; that’s your choice of course! 🌟⁣

But to those of you who also wish to leave, I don’t want my account to be a reason to stay. To those of you wondering whether it’s possible to be an artist in today’s world without social media, I intend to be an example of how yes, it is. 🌹 ⁣

I have a website where I publish my writing, run a podcast network, and lead a virtual community. Thanks to my designer Pam (@pamllaguno ), the website is the perfect home for my art. 💗 Thanks to my podcast partners – Junie, Grace (@gracegordonofficial ), Rorie (@roriemusic ), and our growing Art Life collective of guests – I have creative conversations, regularly. This is where I’ll be.  ✨⁣

One last Emerson line from ‘Self-Reliance’:  ‘Do your thing, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself.’ I’m off to do my thing.  Come visit! :) Reader, I trust you. I trust that you’ll find me elsewhere, and I’ll find you. Keep in touch. I’d love to hear from you — just not on Instagram.  🥰⁣

Until the Next Chapter, ⁣

⁣

P.S. Longer Letter Later. 💌⁣

P.P.S. I’m leaving my profile up, as a portfolio up to this point. Essays and 🐺 photos remain in my Instagram highlights for you to enjoy. New essays and 🐺photos will be on HeroineTraining.com. Signing off, one last time, with one last… Link In Bio.  😜

^ That’s what I said on Instagram anyway. When Steve, who has never been on Instagram, proofread it for me, he said ‘What does that mean, Link In Bio’? Ah, he’ll never know. But also, Reader, hi! You made it! You’re here at my digital home! Welcome :)