June 3rd, 2021
Good morning, Stranger family.
I appreciate the messages I get after sending out these newsletters. You never really know how folks are going to respond, or if it even gets past the security of gmail etc, relegating us to the sinkhole “Promotions” folder.
A lot of people ask me what is the hardest thing about creating and running a business. Outside of the time taken away from family (which is severe), inside is another toll. I liken it to walking on a tightrope of confidence, above the world where everyone watches, marveling at such a feat. I’m on a natural high. And yet “the other side” never gets closer. And when I look down, I cannot see faces, only reflections of familiar demons of doubt, depression, and fear, waiting to catch me in an abysmal embrace. What should I do? Who can I turn to, up in the clouds, so far away from help, placed on a pin-sized pedestal with no turning back? I dare not look left or right for fear of falling. So... I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, hoping that angels have my back. Like the sounds of Coltrane, and you, reading this letter.
But you know who I see when I do risk a look? Everyone else...walking their own tightrope, facing their own fears. It seems like a lot of us walk that line of obligation to self. So maybe we’re not on a tightrope, but all on the same rocky ground. If anyone feels that way, tune in tonight on our @strangercomics Instagram Live at 6 PDT / 9 EDT and I’ll share tips on how I manage such anxiety in this world of comics and creation. And please subscribe to our website, we have announcements soon featuring opportunities for patreon, where we will have group zooms, art and writing exercises, exclusives, and all sorts of fun stuff.
Love, Seb
SONG OF THE WEEK: “DEAR LORD” by John Coltrane.
