How is Your Creative Capacity? [274]
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I wouldn't necessarily say that I can think of a time when I've been very challenged in a different area to art making and have also done something brand new. Hello and welcome to Art Juice. This is honest, generous and humorous conversations that will feed your creative soul and get you thinking with me Alice Sheridan and me Louise Fletcher.

And we have got a discussion today all around balancing different challenges, which I hope is going to be interesting for you to listen to as you go about your day. But first of all, tell us what's been going on in the last week for you and the time since we last chatted. So I was just saying to you, I'm in quite a nice routine at the moment because I'm still working on the property in Cumbria, specifically the studio space.

And so we'll go up there for a few days every week, do some work on that, then come back. And when I'm back, I have my own studio. So I do some painting while I'm back here. I do my course filming because I'm in the middle of creating and teaching a course at the moment. And it's a lot of back and forth, but it's actually a really nice drive backwards and forwards up through the Yorkshire Dales. So it's not like it's, you know, a great difficulty to have to do it.

But last week we had three power cuts over the weekend. So we had that big storm in the UK and where I live, where my home is, I never, we never get power cuts. If we do the power flickers and then comes back on, but that's not the same for Cumbria. When I told my mom about Cumbria, she said, Oh, welcome to Cumbria. Buy some candles. So, um,

So anyway, yes, the power goes off fairly frequently. And they have this great website where they tell you, just log on and see where we're at with your power cut. But it always tells you the wrong information. Yeah. And also then if you've got no power half the time, it means that if you're in somewhere like that, you've got dodgy Wi-Fi signal. No kind of 4G or 5G. So you're reliant on your internet router working. So when there's a power cut, no.

Exactly. But amazingly, my builder, for some reason, because he's a genius, brought a generator with him. As you do, brought a generator up. He didn't know about power cuts. That was for I guess he just carries it round in case we have a power cut. So we had power back on within like 45 minutes the second time once he told me he had a generator. The first time we were four hours without power.

And that was amazing. So that's been my week. What about you? Yeah, that sounds good. I have been I've been still been doing lots of kind of preparing. I have been planning more details of the retreat that we have got coming up in Bali in March, which is feeling very real now. I was looking at my flights last night. Hopefully by the time this goes out, I will have booked them.

But yeah, so that's really exciting. And also tomorrow, again, we'll have done by the time this comes out, I'm doing an in-person talk that I was invited to do. So I have been preparing for that. But it was one of those things where they needed the blurb for it back in November or something. And I thought, oh, well, what am I going to write about? They've already covered everything already.

because it's at the tail end of a program that they've been doing for artists. So they've covered marketing, social media, pricing. They've covered all of that. And I thought, well, what am I going to do? So I came up with something. So then when I had to sit down and work it out, I thought, right, what did I say I was going to do? So we've come up with just this idea about working in balance, which also feeds in a little bit to our

to what we're going to talk about today a bit. But it's been a very interesting process because what it's made me do is really go back through a lot of resources that I have already, but try to have to pull it together from a point of view of sharing it with somebody who doesn't have

all of that access. And it's just been, I have to say, it's been quite a struggle because I, you know, this could be like a full two day workshop for me and I've got an hour and a half. So that editing everything out to just keep the key parts. And then I've got things that I want to do that are interactive in the session and give people resources. There's been quite a lot. I put down one day in my week to get this done. So far, it's taken me three hours.

So that's what I've been doing. So still not back at the studio. Right. Still not back at the studio. And this is a little bit what we're going to talk about. Because on one of my walks earlier this week, I was thinking that at times in the past, I would have felt quite anxious to not be making at this time of year. There would have been doubts about it. And I am not feeling that this time at all.

And I just wondered if there was something in the idea of that we only have capacity. When I messaged you, I said challenge in only one area at a time. I'm not sure I really mean challenge as in terms of overcoming problems, but I suppose I mean challenge.

kind of energetic capacity for where you want to put your attention and your energy. And the three things that I was thinking of was creative. So your creative interest, alertness, energy for something intellectual. So doing something, thinking about something, planning something like I really feel like I'm

deeply in a place where I'm figuring out a lot in my mind and that's where my energy is going. And so I don't have that overflow for creativity at the moment. It feels like my creative energy is going into a lot of, yeah, I would say deeper work. And then the third thing is personal stuff because we know that that

always brings an aspect and an element to anything we do whether we're under financial strain or whether we've got caring responsibilities or things going on in our family so I just wanted to talk about that and initially when you asked me my first reaction was oh I don't think that's true for me I don't think it is only one challenge at a time but my best friend was here the guy the writer guy who's been on the podcast so I asked him and we were talking it over and

He felt he could handle he handles more than one challenging area at a time But when we dug into it, it was more that for him and me We definitely retreat into creativity at times of extreme challenge whether that's financial challenges family challenges work challenges, whatever so we retreat into creativity and

So he was saying no we handle more than one at a time, but then I thought about it later and I thought yeah, but I retreat into familiar creativity I wouldn't necessarily Say that I can think of a time when I've been very challenged in a different area to art making and have also done something brand new and

And really creative. So as an example, I had a very hard time in 2021, 2022. And a friend said, I think you should still teach your course. I think I was going to not do it. And they said, I think you should. I think it would help. And I thought about it and thought, yeah, I think it probably would. But that wasn't new. I'd done that before. It wasn't requiring a great creative energy from me. It was requiring me to show up.

like going to work and be there, but it wasn't a new great big rush of something. And at the moment, all my creative energy is going into this course that I'm developing because it's brand new and everything in it is new and I'm working out as I go and I don't have space. I was just thinking, oh, there's all these things I haven't done up in Cumbria.

I haven't gone out looking for that furniture. I haven't done this. I haven't done that. I can't. I can't also interior decorate a house. No. I haven't got any brain space for it. No. So I do think there's something in it. And yet, do you think, well, you're saying you don't feel that, but do you think many people feel pressured then to,

that I should be coping better than I am or handling more things at a time. I don't know. Before we move on to that, I suppose the other thing that I would be thinking is that when you're talking about creativity and delivering a course, I would say that the emphasis at that point is

It's a different kind of creativity because you're making a deliverable for somebody else. And I know that it is also something that sparks your passion

own creative process and practice that you really, you enjoy. It's an environment for you where that really works. And I think maybe there's something in that. Whereas for me, I find my creativity comes from when I have a place that is much more insular, that is quiet, that doesn't have demands from other people.

And there's something in this doing the familiar. I could show up at the studio and make things in the way that I've always made them while I have a lot of other things going on. But when I say creativity, I think I am talking about that really exploring something new that feels different. And I suppose what I'm saying is for that part to really come alive,

For me, I need to feel that there is relaxation around that, not under any kind of pressure or time pressure to do it or to deliver it or to have an outcome. And also, you know, this whole idea of creativity and just not being in the studio, it is also totally true to say that, you know, when you're doing something like creating a course,

or making a website or anything that is also creative. That's what I mean. It's like, that's the pool of creative energy. Yes. There's not more as well. So it's different for me if I'm going to teach the same thing I've taught for six years and

That's a different kind of energy. It's energy and it does tire you and it does take it out of you, but it's not creative in the same way. This new one has been like really creative and it involves really listening to the people who are taking the course and really absorbing and then responding and then my own ideas and sorting through them and organizing them and

um recording and creating you know demos and painting for that and I find this is what I mean I think I agree with you because then yes it sparks my own creativity in some ways but I don't have the space to explore what it's sparking yeah because I need to keep moving because people are waiting and they paid money and they have to have the next stage and I want to do it

So that's why I think when it comes to things like courses or other creative projects, a garden, anything that we have that's creative in our lives. I think your business coach once said this to you. You've got to realize that you are expending some of the energy that you have.

And it comes at a price somewhere else. And if you're okay with the price, that's fine. But you can't, I don't think you can design a whole great big garden and plant the whole garden in a new property and launch an incredibly creative exploration in your painting. As I say that, I think maybe some people can. Maybe some people that would spark lots of energy because there's creativity happening here. So it gets sparked over here.

There's definitely some overflow. And I think, trying to think of particular examples, nothing springs to mind. But I know there have definitely been situations where the activity in one area does kind of really light a spark and then everything feels like go, go, go in lots of different places at once. I don't think that that's sustainable for a long time. I think that's what I'm trying to say here. I think what I'm trying to say is that there is...

It's very difficult to be working at full levels across all of these different areas. And I think sometimes we expect it of ourself. And I think it's sometimes that sometimes I see in the membership or just in conversations that I'm having with people that.

where people are almost apologetic about what I'm saying. I haven't been in the studio or, and it doesn't really matter which area it is, but we're usually apologetic about the, I haven't been creative part or how is it suddenly the end of January and I haven't done any drawing yet or whatever the thing is. We're usually apologetic about that, where the reality is,

we're at capacity in some other area in our life. And I personally, I can't, I find it difficult to be creative in that space. I know exactly that carving out some time to be playful in a sketchbook is restorative, restful, can take you to new places at those moments of challenge.

But I'm also recognizing that, again, that creativity can come out in different places. Like for me at the moment, it is writing, which is surprising me. But I'm noticing that it's nourishing me in a way that perhaps my art would have done a couple of years ago. Yeah. I'm just wondering, is there something in the novelty is that I'm looking for? Does it just feel new? Yeah.

Whereas going back to making art, I haven't got that thing that's driving me yet. And we do. Well, we do need that. Some of us need that. I don't.

When I said about retreating into things that are familiar, so that for me is things like working in a sketchbook or just getting some scraps of paper and playing or making collages or things that are not meant for anybody else, things that are just for me. And that is definitely my safe space. So if things do get overwhelming in life or in any aspect of life,

I know that's the answer. And when I ignore that that's the answer for me, then I start to feel ill. And I shouldn't say this because now I'm going to get ill, but this winter I haven't been ill at all. And I'm usually down with everything. And I think it's because I am being more creative. I think being more creative all the time, I'm also eating better and I'm not drinking alcohol and there's lots of things. But I do think for me, that kind of creativity is part of it. But I do realize, yeah, but that is...

Not that that's any less than, but that's a different, that's not a creative challenge. That's creative fun. That's creative play. It's like meditation for someone else. It just takes my mind off everything. Whereas a creative challenge would be like, I'm going to, I don't know, launch a whole new series of paintings that take me to the next level of

I don't know that I would have space for that when I'm pressed and pulled in a million different directions with other things. Well, I know I wouldn't. I don't know. Just in terms of time, lots of us deal with caring for somebody or having responsibilities for other people who can't look after themselves necessarily. Maybe it's elderly parents, maybe it's a spouse or whatever, but we have, with that...

It's just not possible to say, well, I'm going to carve out time. You know, I have people on my course who are really struggling because caring takes up a huge amount of their time and emotional energy. And it's stressful and it's draining. And I don't think you can...

create amazing things at the same time but every time I say I don't think you can I'm very aware that there's probably somebody listening who says that's when I'm at my most creative yeah absolutely and there's always except there's always going to be exceptions aren't there um I don't know maybe maybe it's just that I'm aware look it's coming up to the end of January and um

I think it's a very easy time of year for everybody to be really hard on themselves. Because January has about 897 days in it. I'm sure it does. Well, I think I feel the opposite this year. I feel like January this year has literally had about 16 days in it. Do you? Yeah, I feel like it just started just not very long ago. And now we're at the end. And holy smokes, I've been doing lots of things that have been really fun and it's gone really fast.

I don't feel like it's been a slow, draggy January at all. That's good. But, and it's also interesting. I think this is what I'm saying. It's also interesting because for me, usually times like that are when I'm being really creative and I haven't been.

paintbrush yeah my energy is going into something else isn't it and it's been like this for you for a while that you've been interested in a lot of things and I always think there's a reason why we're being pulled to do things

And when the idea for this new course came, I thought, don't be ridiculous. You've just finished a course. It really seemed like the stupidest idea. I was going to take some time to work on this building. I was going to be resting. But it was so pressing.

that it just felt like I just have to do this. It's coming out of me. It's bubbling. When you have those pulls, I think you have to follow them because you don't know why or what's, why it's being asked of you in a way. Asked of you sounds like somebody's up there asking you, but I've seen that with you lately. Over the last two years, you seem to have been very drawn to lots of spiritual things, lots of healing things,

taking courses and learning new things and running retreats. And I mean, you say you're not being creative, but you've set up a mastermind and you're running a retreat in Bali. Yeah. Those are creative. They're just not painting. So I, I see you getting drawn off in that. And I wonder if it's just not your painting time at the moment. I know. And I think I'm also, what I'm most excited about in a way is that,

when I come back to painting, because I know I will, how that will have changed. And there's something here as well then about the idea of always working on something directly, or where working around in other ways and putting your energy in other things ultimately comes back and feeds you in a very different way. And I think that's something to be

I think that's something to be aware of because again, I don't know if it's just where I am at the moment or what I'm seeing. And one of my January books I read was James Clear, Atomic Habits. And it had some very good points in it. And it also made me quite annoyed at times because it had this real thing about, okay, we only

all need habits right we all need things that serve us there will need to be things that we don't need to think about and we need to do and I think there is a danger in the creative world of becoming too habitual and there is something about the different stages of doing that because there are definitely times where I needed that in order to show up

But I also think there is a danger in becoming too habitual and doing things in too much the same way. And reading this book, like I say, great, some very practical tips in there. Habits, love it all. And life isn't consistent.

Life is not consistent. And I think if we expect that of ourselves in our creativity, then we're inevitably at points going to fall into a trap where we start judging ourselves and doubting ourselves and feeling bad about it. And I just want to open the door on this. It's okay to not be doing it all the time because there will be some people for whom that feels a huge relief.

You must get asked this question a lot, and I know I do. How many hours in a day do you spend in your studio, someone will ask, and I always go, ha, I don't know which day are you speaking about, because there are many, many days where I don't spend

set foot in it I think I know there are artists we spoke to Brian Rutenberg years ago and he goes to work nine till five in his studio and if he doesn't make anything he just sits there till five o'clock and then goes home that is I just couldn't I remember talking to him and I remember at the time almost physically recoiling yeah and also being in huge admiration of that and

And feeling at the same time this kind of, oh, well, I can't do that. I can never imagine myself doing that. That must mean I'm never. I'm not a proper artist. I'm not doing it right. Yes, I had all that too. But the truth is there are many others who don't do that.

How many artists and musicians and writers have we heard about who start at midnight and work all through the night or, you know, just work sporadically and then have months off? Yeah. So I think everyone's different and that's what he needs to be creative. And he makes all of his income from his paintings and therefore he has shows lined up and it's very much of a business thing for him.

Whereas it's a little bit different for us because we have more diverse income and it's not real. Our income is not reliant on what we make. And I'm grateful for that.

Because I wouldn't I would not enjoy it as much anymore if it was dependent on that But that said so what I was gonna say is it I think people imagine when they see someone who works as an artist They imagine that Brian Rutenberg way of doing it and if they're not doing it that way they must be wrong and in truth There are as many different ways of doing it as there are artists yeah, and

I saw something that you did and I don't want to like speak about the person because it was it was in your group. But someone who was putting an enormous amount of pressure on themselves to produce a living from their work. Yeah. And I see that all the time. Like I've given up my job. I want to make a living as an artist. And now it suddenly becomes this hugely stressful and upsetting and difficult thing.

And I always say to the people in my group when they're thinking about that, can you think about a way to do it that makes it easier on yourself so you don't have to put all the pressure on that because of what we're talking about? Because of all the pressures on that, what do you do when you're challenged and you don't have any creative energy left? Yeah. And I think that's partly where this question came from, that conversation, because...

It is impossible, actually. We cannot be creative. There is a certain state that we need to be in to be genuinely creative, and that is rested, relaxed, stimulated. And we can't be creative if we've got a whole load of stresses in our lives, whether that's being busy at work, whether that is financial worries, anything.

It's almost impossible to be creative from that place. It's not to say that it won't ever come back again. And it's not to say that, as you say, it can't be part of what nurtures you through that. But it's very difficult to be genuinely creative. Your brain just can't. Because it's too busy using its own resources to do battle with the immediate and the urgent, to come up, to open up, to expand, to

into really something new and exciting and I think that that's partly what I'm getting at here with like really what creativity means creativity is not just the habit of showing up and making it's the environment in which you are capable of um putting things together in a new way or um

And understanding things, like really understanding things from a different standpoint that is new to you. And that's never going to come when you're working too much in too much in habit or dealing with too many things on your plate. Yeah, I think so. What we're saying is there's the kind of creativity which is.

for me, you know, going in and making something just for myself and enjoying and maybe trying a new material and just seeing what happens. And sometimes that sparks a little bit of something.

And then there's the kind which is, ooh, I feel totally energized and excited to go make some paintings and do something, make a whole series or get involved in a theme or really explore something. So there's like this, what I think, what I'm calling routine creativity. That's important for me. I almost feel like if I don't... And there's a place for that, for sure. Yeah. And I almost feel like if I don't have that...

would I just not have the other? Like if I don't have it as part of my life all the time, would it just go? That's I think what I'm trying to get at is that even then when you say, okay, so let's see if we can sort of set. So we've got the kind of the routine creativity, the habit, the

the, this is what I'm committing to, this is what I'm going to show up to and see what comes out of it. Like the practice, yes? Important. Both, I think we both agree that that's important. And then you're talking about a thing where you get a spark of something and you're driven to go and do something and follow it up. I think what I'm talking about is the space where

Almost that bit before you get that inspiration, that bit where you are rested at ease, you're not looking for anything. And that's when an idea really comes in. And this is just a personality thing, isn't it? Because going back to human design, your design is to respond, right?

to something and not to then that makes it sound like you wait for someone to tell you what to do and then you respond it's not that you feel really good my prime driver is to do yeah and you you respond to something in the outside world so it might be a little tiny spark and you can't respond if you're not rested and quiet because you can't see the tiny spark you can't hear it

And my thing is internal. So I can be quiet. I was really down and bored a few months ago. Very, very bored. Maybe six months ago, just flat and depressed and nothing came like because that was a different kind of quiet.

But then in the hectic craziness of doing a renovation and this teaching a course and making some paintings at the time, suddenly this idea comes. I'm like, oh, no, that's totally the wrong time for that to come.

But when the ideas come, they're so powerful that it's like a tide coming in and I just have to go with them because there might not be another one for two years. That might be it. So I just think that is a slight difference. But I'm sure there are many, many people because it sounds true to me. What you're saying sounds totally true. I just know it's not how it works for me.

But it makes perfect sense. And my human design is like 8% of people. So most people listening to this are going to be the responders. And that makes perfect sense to me. How can you respond when you can't even hear the whispers because you're too busy responding?

and overwhelmed with something else. Yeah. And it's about, so one of my, okay, this is going to be a bit embarrassing, but really obvious duh moments this week is,

I've been experimenting with a few things, one of which is carrying my book around with me so that I read more rather than picking up my phone, like when I'm having coffee or having lunch. That's working. But what I did do, talking of responding, is I'm having quite a lot of fun on threads a bit in and out occasionally.

But what I notice is any time I go into there or into Instagram, I get that. Oh, there's an idea. Oh, there's an idea. Oh, there's an idea. But my rather daft aha moment is all you are doing when you do this is giving yourself a whole bunch of other ideas. You don't need those right now. What you need to do is complete and implement on the ideas that you already have.

But knowing that there is that tap of things, like it doesn't matter what I could pick up a book. I could go for a walk down that high street, anything, anything like that. I can have a response to. But what I also need to do is give myself enough space that I don't get all of those things coming in. So if you if your strategy or approach is to respond to,

then you must be overwhelmed a lot of the time with things. I'd never even thought of that. Yeah. Yeah. So I think we can wrap up that section. Can we? I think so. Zero conclusions. Zero conclusions, except everyone's different. However, I do think there's a lot. There's definitely a lot in at least thinking about for yourself that

Is this happening to me at the moment? And am I beating myself up over something which might just be my nature, the way things are, you know? And also what you class as being creative. I think that's also important. Like, you know, we're here, we make things, we're artists. That is one bucket of creativity. There is a whole other bunch of creativity, you know, all sorts of different creative outlets and practices. Mm-hmm.

writing cooking all of those things yeah feed in I think my new neighbor knits and I was like she's knitting these amazing jumpers and I was like oh I like jumpers maybe I should learn to knit and then I'm like Louise no enough to learn to knit stop it I can't knit

If I try to knit a square, it ends up being like a little funnel shape because it ends up getting tighter and tighter. Well, at least you can at least do a funnel. I can't even knit a funnel. I have no idea. What am I going to do with a wearable funnel shape? It's not even a coaster, let's face it. A tube top jumper, a jumper tube top. Yeah, that could be cool. Yeah, that won't be happening. ♪

Okay, I have something that I would like to recommend that I have been really enjoying this week, which is a new podcast. It's called Bookworm. And it is, I think the hosts have changed. Let me tell you what it is. So it's a discussion of these kind of books, the self-help-y type books, like Atomic Habits,

And the reason that I found it was somebody recommended a book and I was just doing a search on it to see if it was on Spotify as a free book. So then I found this podcast reviewing it on Spotify. And then I've been over and I've listened to lots of their discussions. They're quite long. They're about an hour and 20, sometimes an hour and 40 minutes long.

But I think they're really, what I'm really enjoying is very often you see these books and you think, oh, would that be good? Is that worth reading? And if I'm listening to this walking around the park, it's given me both some ideas for books that I do want to buy and I do want to get and work through or look at. But also it gives you a really good overview of the book. And sometimes that is enough. Yeah. Sometimes you don't have to read it to get the point.

And I think why I'm quite enjoying their take on it. As I listen to them discussing the books, I'm understanding like where they're coming from in terms of how they want to build their lives and why I think like they slated off Tim Ferriss quite a lot. Oh God, that book made me angry when I read that one.

Well, it made them... Or our work week or something like, yeah. And they're like, okay, if you just want to be Tim Ferriss and make loads of money off other people, you know, you can do that. But this is not how I want to live my life. Yeah. So I'm quite enjoying their angle on it. And they've got all sorts of great things in there. I haven't listened to their take on Rick Rubin yet. I have listened to their...

of Brene Brown, Atlas of the Heart. But it's really, I mean, you can, and then I just kind of scroll through and I dot around and I think they've been going a very long time because they've got

well over 200 episodes and they only do one. Yeah, I know. I like finding a good new podcast with lots of episodes. Yeah, it's a scroll through and pick which books pull your attention and then they often refer to other books as they're talking and then you can bounce around and that helps you discover new books. So I'm really enjoying that. So that's Bookworm Podcast.

You've been really edifying. All I've done in podcasts for the last few weeks is listen to various traitors podcasts. I've like gone down a traitor's rabbit hole. But I do have a book to recommend. So I recommended one last week and I am actually shockingly on a different one now because I

one of the things I want to do this year is really get back into reading. And like you, I'm trying to remember when I've got a moment, okay, get my book out instead of... And so this book is unbelievably good. I haven't quite finished it yet, but she's one of my favorite writers anyway. Her name is Leanne Moriarty.

She wrote Big Little Lies, which was turned into a big TV drama with Nicole Kidman, I think. And she's an Australian writer. And every book is different. And every book is creative and a really interesting idea. And this one's called Here One Moment. And it just has, see, I should have had it with me because I'm about to say it has the best first line of any book I've ever read. So enticing, tells you everything you need to know online. You want to go and get it?

Shall I go get it? Go get it! Okay, hang on. I shall run. So the first sentence is...

Not a single person will recall seeing the lady board the flight at Hobart Airport. And that's it. And then you go, what flight? What lady? What's going to happen? And I'm not going to say what happens, but she, by one act on this flight, changes the lives of all the people on the flight. And it's so good. I'm like, I've got a quarter to go.

Oh, that moment in a book that you'll really enjoy. Isn't it funny though, this thing about reading? Because it used to be that I would put them on my bedside table so I'd read before bed, but now carrying it around and they really become part of your every day. And then you have a book that you're really enjoying and it's taken a while to get into. And then, you know, it's going to come to an end. I know. But I love that idea that, was it Sarah submitted a few weeks ago of wrapping books up?

in brown paper and then because I have quite a few on my bookshelves that I want to read I think the secret is to have one lined up that you're really keen to start then you won't be so sad when this one ends but yeah I'm really enjoying it so that's my recommendation oh that's true I'm reading um I'm reading the seven husbands of of um Evelyn Hugo

Oh, right. I've heard of that, but not read it. Yeah. So it's about a writer writing the autobiography of a famous Hollywood actress through the 50s and onwards. But I'm just over halfway through it and she's only on her second husband. So she's going to crack through the last five very quickly. Why would you want seven husbands if the first two didn't work out? We'll see. But yeah, I do have the next one lined up. So I'm quite excited about that.

Okay, that's it from us then. So I'm going to end this with a little congratulations for making your way through 735 years.

days of January well done you're still here we're still here we'll see you next time if you want to find out more you can find Louise on Instagram at Louise Fletcher underscore art and you can find me on Instagram at Alice Sheridan studio with all the links in those places there see you next time bye bye bye

I can't go on threads because every time I go on there, I seem to see some misogynistic asshole writing some stupid question about women. And then I have to respond. And then I'm like, why did you do that? Because now you'll see more of these people. What I got into yesterday, I don't know how or why, but somehow on Instagram, I got into people eating raw meat.

Right? This is lumps, lumps of raw steak and then raw chicken and also fermented rotten beef. Why? And my brain is also like...

What? Like, the fascination, the comments are hysterical, but because then I found one person that came up and then I kind of scrolled and was obsessively like, what the heck is even going on here? How could you do that? This is gross. Now I keep getting a whole load more and I'm like, go away, I don't want to see people eating rotten... This is the problem with social. Beware the algorithm. Yes.