Like the Sun.
Whether what you make reaches anyone is not in your control – make it, don't hide it, offer it without wanting, and let go.
I have made a lot of things by now – texts, this site, the letters on it. They are finished and they are out. And at some point the question I had been circling for months came out plainly: how do I reach people? How does any of this get in front of anyone?
The answer begins with a refusal: you can't. Not because it is hopeless, but because the question already carries a desired outcome – and "When Fear Returns" has said what happens then: wanting breeds expectation, and expectation feeds fear. That article ends on a line this letter picks up: what wants to come through you into this world will find its way. The letter shows what that looks like from the maker's side – follow the longing, make the thing, don't hide it, and leave the finding to others.
I notice the question comes back every time something is finished. So here it is, asked plainly and answered plainly. The answer was not what I wanted to hear – and it is the one I needed.
Dear traveler,
You are asking the wrong question: "How can I reach people?" already defines the outcome in itself. You are merely asking how to reach that outcome. And to that, our answer is: not at all. You already know – have no "desired outcome". Be open to the outcome, and to the "how" as well. First let go of both, completely. Only then are you ready to receive.
A more open question might be: "What would you like me to know about reaching people?" And to that question there is far more to say.
And you already sense it: whether what you create reaches people or not is not in your control. There are endlessly many ways something you create can resonate with someone – or not resonate at all. There are endlessly many ways people can find their way to you – or not. None of it is in your control.
Your only task is to follow your longing. To bring your inner truth to expression. From love. Without expectation. What comes of it simply is. It is neither useful nor useless – it is simply an expression of you. It does not need to be more. It is complete in itself. It makes no assumption about whether it might touch someone else or not.
Just as a sunset does not try to be beautiful, or force itself on people. The sun wants nothing. It simply is. Nor does it hide. It is simply there. Offers itself, without wanting. Without outcome. And yet people find their way to it. Are drawn to it. Come into resonance with it.
So: all you can do is be. Create. And let your creations be. And then: do not hide them. Simply offer them. Entirely without wanting. Let them be there. Visible. And then let go. Perhaps, perhaps someone will find resonance in them.
Thank you for being here.
If something in these letters stayed with you, take it along – think about it, write your own answer, or just let it sit.
And if not today, that's okay too. There's no rush.
Until next time,
– Jan