The New Year, New You: Experiment in Radical Transformation is winding to a close. We’ve all gotten a lot done, and somehow—despite the lack of any physical contact or, in many cases, even direct communication with each-other—built a community and an egregore or sorts, our own mini-current. We’ve analyzed our goals and broken them into manageable pieces. We’ve hit roadblocks and thrown off long-held burdens. We’ve sighed with collective relief when the Cruel Muse gave us all a break. And quite a few other things besides. The final prompt asks us to consider the lessons we’ve learned in the process.
I have learned, among other things, that I get a lot more done than I think I do, and that when I set myself reasonable goals I tend to achieve them.
I have also confirmed my suspicion that I often do better when Someone Is Watching: I am more likely to achieve some goals when there is some risk of making a public fool of myself by failing. This is not something I am particularly proud of, but I wonder if that’s just that old rugged individualism narrative going off in conjunction with the tropes of toxic masculinity.
I have learned that the struggles I have with maintaining my regular practice are shared widely, even among people who are pretty fucking badass.
As vain as it is to mention, I have confirmed my believe that (some, at least) people really are interested in what I have to say.
Mostly, though, I’ve reaffirmed that I’m in this for the long haul. Doing magic. Rearching magic. Writing about the doing and the researching, the ways in which each of those things intersect. That this really is what I want to spend a significant portion of my limited spare time right here, with y’all.
–Peace, LVX, and wild monkey sex.
Satyr Magos