the evolution of self

Illustrations by Ankita Singh

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.”
– Joseph Campbell

Just as the universe is constantly changing, so is life.
It is curious how the universe seems to be in sync with our internal flow and opens possibilities of living life to its fullest potential. It took me a while to start believing that there is a life beyond what society tells us.

For the longest time I thought of life as a set of milestones: live up to them and you would define your success, worth, and acceptance in society. Growing up with this conditioning I went through all the expected steps and did quite well, but there was always a sense of being stuck.

Fast forward ten years into my career, I was growing more and more resentful. As a creative person I knew this was not my space. My inner voice kept telling me you are not growing. It took a lot of courage and support to break away from my conditioning and this system.

I realised it was so simple: working with my hands is my calling. This truly helps me connect with myself and my surroundings. My journey has included growing, learning, reflecting, pausing,unlearning, acceptance, and finding purpose. The urge to grow and evolve is innately human. Starting this new chapter of my life was scary and filled with struggle, but being open to reinvent and evolve, it has all felt worth it.

Change is the only constant.

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editor's note

Volume 09

clay | chlorophyll | crimson

Grass is green where you water it. LC’s words float along over Misch’s guitar. It’s a phrase that feels so obvious, and I’m sure those who tend to gardens know this more than most, but it seems to land more than before. The impact noticeable, memorable, echoing through my being. Perhaps we’re ingrained to think it’s greener elsewhere. This patch is the problem and not whether we’re watering it. The key is in the watering. How we go about this practice is what defines our patch of grass. No matter where we go, our patch is, perhaps, the same. Some attributes and characteristics have been changed but the essence is the same: Us.

Stepping into Volume 09 of imprint, marks our third year. I am learning that this patch of green that we have been tending to for the last several years will mould, shift, and sculpt. This depends on how we water it and allow it to take its own shape. It has already happened in wonderfully unexpected ways. There is only so much structure or shape we can predetermine. Beyond that, it will absorb what it needs and reject all that is unnecessary. And perhaps, in this practice, we are changed. Our grass is watered as we water that of our writing, our image making, our practice, our magazine.

From light to dark, rigid to supple, new to old, there is so much in between that is bright and vibrant and unexpected. The practice of our magazine has focused on being open to what we receive; being open to deeply listening to what is shared; being open to work taking us to new journeys. This volume, and this year, will be no different. We will continue tending to it as we have done, learning along the way, from past seasons and present ones.

And yet, I know it will be entirely different.
But still.
It will be watered.