Usually I try to give myself a day after retreat to adjust. That wasn’t possible this year.
After I got home, I did take a walk and watch a tremendous sunset (see above) that my phone unsurprisingly failed to render in its full glory, but that was it.
So after a few days of nonstop connecting and reconnecting, sharing (among other things) ideas, book recommendations, thrilling true tales of the publishing industry, and everyone’s favorite hilarious and/or alarming online videos, I ricocheted right back into my quotidian place.
Except that place is different. Literally different; in dayjobland, I’m moving offices, by which I mean cubicles, for the first time in over a decade. I have the same job, but I’ve got a new boss. (“That means you don’t have the same job,” said a friend, helpfully.)
There are other changes, too. Circumstances are combining to make me realize that in more than one context, Hey, I’ve been doing this for a while. I know some stuff.
I certainly don’t know All The Stuff. I need to be constantly ready both to learn new Stuff and to unlearn Stuff I thought I knew, but is now Different. I need to make sure I keep challenging my assumptions, seeking out other perspectives, honing my various crafts, and generally not getting stagnant — but, in sum: Stuff. I Know Some.
(And I can make other stuff up. Which, of course, in some cases is the whole point.)