It's been a minute since I posted much here. I've found a new creative outlet. I started a Youtube channel in an attempt to grow my family's farm into a brand. I picked up some new camera toys to make it fun. I know everyone wants to be a pro content creator. I know it'll be a long journey. But, I like learning new skills, and this one at least has several potential future growth opportunities. Maybe my channel never takes off, but I'll still grow my skills in photography, videography, scripting, video editing, marketing. Maybe it does take off - and I'll be able to sell merch for my channel. Either way, it's not a short journey, so the key is to enjoy the process.

Enjoy the process - this is a theme that has started to recur in my life. I've started to believe in the concept of synchronicity. This is another concept from Carl Jung.

Synchronicity is a concept that describes the occurrence of seemingly meaningful coincidences that lack a clear cause. Jung believed that synchronicity was an expression of archetypal patterns, and that the personal and collective unconscious connect with the material world to make synchronicities possible.

This may have a different meaning to others; but, for me, it means that your subconcious is picking up on something that you should maybe pay a little more attention to. I am not an overly spiritual type person. I don't go to church or anything. The spiritual aspect of myself is underdeveloped, let's say. I guess the closest thing would be my connection with nature - the natural world. I am able to fulfill this part of my life by being outside. This is a stark contrast to the rest of my life. If you glance around my site for a bit, it's clear that most of my life revolves around screens. This is bad in multiple ways. It's sedentary, it's eye strain, it's loneliness. It's too easy to get trapped in negative thought patterns when you're just sitting around the house all day, doing nothing.

It's kinda funny writing it out, because the thing that's getting me out and about more is still behind a screen - that of a video camera, and the subsequent editing that follows. But, it's still more active compared to say, watching TV or playing video games. I'll still do those things of course, just less.

Getting back to the point - enjoying the process. This is a mantra I'm trying to apply throughout my life - in eating healthy, in fitness, and now in trying to grow a Youtube channel. To be successful in these endeavors, it takes time. Years. Maybe even a lifetime. That's why enjoying the process is key - because to even get to the "end" (as much as an end can exist, besides death of course) - there's a very loooong process. I've been trying to be healthier my whole life. And I've failed at it - a lot.

So, I'm trying to shift my mindset. It's not like a switch, even the process of changing your mindset is in itself another process. This is sorta along the lines of CBT - cognitive behavioral therapy - intentially trying to shift your thought patterns. I've said before that Life is a constant journey, and as I've grown older I've found that to be truer every day. Life itself is the journey, and the end of that story is your death.

I'm not trying to be morbid or anything. I'm kinda just brain dumping my thoughts from the past few months. I've been in my new state for a year and a half now. It's crazy how fast the time goes. Given that I moved away from the place I'd lived almost my entire life, it's been kinda lonely. Of course, I have my wife and her family here, who have readily taken me in as one of their own. And I'm naturally a loner anyway. But, it's still different. It's like a rebirth. It took about a year for the newness to wear off, and in these past few months that feeling of rebirth has intensified. I'm still trying to find out who I am inside. When you have a lot of time alone, you have ample time to think and reflect on all that. It can turn negative real quick.

Speaking of negative, the election is tomorrow. The amount of political anxiety I've had has been insane. Throwing myself into new hobbies and learning new skills is an attempt to quiet that anxiety. It's mostly worked. I know it sounds hyperbolic and I feel we've been saying this for far too many elections now, but yet again it seems that the soul of our nation is at risk. Will that ever not be the case, going forward? There is great evil in the world, and to pretend it doesn't exist is a mistake. But it's also important to recognize what lies within the scope of our power. In many cases, there isn't much - so in those instances you just have to protect your own sanity. Build your local community. Give back to those in need. Grow your relationships with trusted people, whether in person or online. Create something, anything. It doesn't matter if it's bad - learn to enjoy the process. With consistent practice, you can only improve.

It's never too late, nor too early to start. Your first work will probably not be great. Most of us aren't virtuosos. That's ok. You don't have to be the best at something to enjoy it. The act of creating something and putting it out in the world is exhilarating. I've had a long time off from having a social media presence. But, posting on Youtube hits different. I'm not an artist, but I have to imagine the feel of spending days on filming and editing a video and then posting it must be similar to the feeling artists get when they post their work online. Even if nobody watches it or looks at it, I still had fun making it. And I grew my own skills in the process.

What's the point of all this rambling? I've just had a lot of thoughts swirling around lately, and it helps to get them out on (virtual) paper. I guess if I had one takeaway, it would be this: Enjoy The Process - whatever it may be.

I don't know what the future looks like. I don't even know what tomorrow looks like. I'm a little scared honestly, but I'm not gonna focus on that feeling. I'm going to take ownership of what I can control - my own actions. I'm going to build my community. I'm going to support my family and friends. I'm going to get more involved at the family farm. I'm going to keep making videos. I'm going to keep growing my skills. I'm going to keep trying new things. But mosty importantly, I'm going to enjoy the process.