I launched my blog/newsletter on Substack last spring or summer. I can’t remember. I was super excited about it, until I wasn’t. The annoyance of having to post in another space, on another platform exhausted me, but I thought it a better alternative to Patreon, where all the magical creatures are vying for business.
I suppose that’s the thing, we’re all vying for business. And Substack offered a space where many heavy hitters were sitting. I could offer my words alongside the words of any and every talented writer, journalist, artist, or musician. I could set up shop here, because all the cool kids are here, and I could build a following, while also directing my established followers over here. I have a good friend that likes Substack because everyone she reads is on here and she can check in on them all in one go. I agreed. Why would I make it harder for myself to find readers and followers?
Except, the experienced marketing person that I am always remembers the time period where there were no social media platforms. Where people didn’t have viral posts, that are often times a combination of nonsense and oversharing. When people just worked on a craft, or finetuned a skill or art and still were able to survive, hell, thrive! There is a world of marketing that doesn’t involve selling every single ounce of plasma, blood, and cells to algorthims and platforms that make a ton of money off of you.
I’m in the business of words and language and feelings. I like to tell people that I when I was a kid in Brooklyn, New York, I had three goals/dreams in my short-lived life:
To get hit by a car and survive;
To travel with Romani people to learn their ways;
To live on an American Indian reservation living in a teepee and hunting buffalo.
When I look back at what young Sara in the 80s thought of life, I question her, but as an adult, I understand that young Sara was tapping into her desire to be a healer. To learn the ways of death, or near death, and to survive, and to be able to offer those services to others. And yes, she had very colonized/western ideas about these people and culture, but the fact remains that young Sara was drawn to a deeper intuitive calling in her soul than she really understood, or had the proper lens and language to understand.
I have been writing my whole life now. I’ve been writing as a way to heal and bridge worlds; and to show love and affection. When I was a child, I had many penpals across the world. I am a people person after all. They share things with me because I listen and I am a fairly comforting person, and because I share things back with them. I am not an oversharer. I am not a malicious gossip. I share what I know, if it is pertinent, but mainly about myself.
I have spent my working life writing for other people - articles about business dealings and doings, profiles on professionals, or products. I’ve worked for spiritual people, large corporations, NGOs. I’ve volunteered as a writer for various health farm/food specific organizations. I’ve also written inherently political things - I’ve been political since I was a small child - defending people on the street, writing to politicians about things I’ve witnessed, reporting cops, etc. I have also written for myself. I’ve written deeply personal things and then I haven’t written at all. I’ve written things that have upset or offended people and yet they are a truth that I know and feel in my body. I’ve never shied away from the truth.
This comes up because we’re at a point in our lives and both local and global communities where we need to speak up, but also have hard boundaries. We need spaces where we can speak about our concerns, share our wisdom and knowledge, but also say this is not acceptable, nor will this be tolerated. If someone wants to have a discussion about injustice or inhumane practices by people and governments, we can have those conversations. If someone wants to have a conversation about their fear, we can also have that conversation, as long as it is constructive. If the fear turns into projection of hatred or more fear, or non-sensical garbage, then we need a different turn.
We all have opinions, but not all opinions need to be shared. Not all opinions should be allowed to be aired. Your opinion does not warrant national news coverage, or even a blog. Substack, and many platforms before it, and I’m sure after it, will always struggle with this because as a country it is indoctrinated in us that we have freedom of speech. Just like with guns, individuals will fight it because it is connected to our intrinsic desire to be free. Being free does not involve violence or harm, being free involves inclusivity and kindness. Being free is the awareness of knowing when to shut up and when to rise up. Being free is knowing that unless your neighbor is free, you are not free. Being free is not caring about who said this or that or wants you to do this or that or live your life like this or that. Being free doesn’t involve subjecting individuals to death. Being free is allowing us all to live within respectful bounds of each other, but also living an authentic life that adds to the community and our neighbors. Being free is taking accountability for when we’ve done something wrong, apologizing for it, and then taking steps to do better. Being free is not about religion or any other fanatical thing you want to believe in, or are led to believe in. Being free is in the trusting and love of you as a person to yourself and to others.
You can search online for all the criticism of Substack. You can also read other writers posts where they mention a sense of uncertainity on what to do, or where and when to go. You are welcome to have your opinion and to stay or go. I am going. I am going because what I do share, I want to share with people not as a way to make profit, but as a way to share what I write in the way I have for a long time. And I want to share in a space where I need not worry about nazis, or racists, or profit margins, or being the next big startup. I want to write in a space that feels comfortable to my heart and that is my own website.
I hope you’ll follow me there. The posts will be free. The writing will become more consistent. Lets be free together.