Being Seen, Without It Becoming A Performance

I'm terrible at interpretative dance anyway.

Hi! I'm Deb, and welcome to The Night Shift, where just about anything is up for discussion. It's about 11 PM as I start this post.

Cooper is my writing buddy tonight; the other pets have been put to bed and are quietly snoozing away.

The neighborhood is quiet.

I have a pear scented candle burning on the stove; you know, for atmosphere.

I also have coffee.

Let's do this thing.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about visibility, so-called visibility wounds, things I've tried and failed, ‘the rules’ I got handed at some point in my life that just aren't working (if they ever did), and a whole bunch of other related or not gobbledygook that's been competing for space trying to gel in my brain lately.

First, though, I want to tackle visibility in general for a bit. Work with me a sec.

This interest in visibility as a concept isn’t because I suddenly want /everyone/ to recognize me on sight and know my name (God forbid!); that's not, never has been, and, probably never will be how I roll.

The visibility thing is more that, I write books, do podcasting and whatnot now, and, with that, comes a degree of visibility, and I accept this as a notion and should therefore get on with it.

But you know what's funny..funny hmm..not funny, ha-ha..

For years, I assumed that becoming more visible meant becoming more... something. More polished. More outspoken. More entertaining. More opinionated. More certain. More..all of the above, all at once. The internet, being what it is after all, can make it seem as though ‘the loudest voice and the flashiest appearance wins!!’.

However, I’ve started wondering if that’s really true. What if visibility, looks.. different..from what I/we suppose? Stay with me here, Gentle Readers..

What if visibility simply requires becoming more.. yourself?

I /don’t/ have really exciting news!! every day (I'd frankly worry if I did). This works because it gives me the space to tell you guys about the shenanigans..furry or otherwise..around here. Ahem

Anyway..

Some days I write. Some days, I make progress on a current novel in progress..other times I wind up doing some research and idea gathering for merch or for the next novel series.

Some days, I deal with the outside plants and whatnot. Self sufficiency for the win and all that nifty stuff. On the other hand, some days, I discover that the dog has, once again, found something to put in his mouth..dammit.

That’s real life though. That, in theory, is enough.

I’m not interested in creating myself as a character that has to be maintained, outside of self-care and style.

I already have characters. They get to be theatrical and are pretty darn good at it.

Norman can be larger than life.

Aunt Phyllis can say the things the rest of us are thinking.

And that works.

Anyhoody..

I recently decided that I’d rather be more or less recognizable to ‘my tribe’ (you guys know who you are).

I’d rather people know, more or less, what they’re going to find when they visit my little corner of the internet. A cup of coffee, and an open chair. A thoughtful essay. A funny story. A glimpse behind the scenes. Furry shenanigans. A lesson from The School of Hard Knocks. That’s-all real enough.

The funny thing is, I suspect that’s what many of us are looking for now. Just someone willing to leave the proverbial lantern burning on the porch, as opposed to someone showing off a perfectly curated life somewhere.

For now, Gentle Readers, this is all. Have a great night.

Talk again soon,

Deb