Hey friend,

I know it’s been a while since my last newsletter. The holidays, with all the time spent with friends and family, combined with my full-time job, kept me pretty busy these past couple of months. But I’m officially back to creating content!

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit existential, as I often do during the winter. One thing that’s been on my mind is this recurring cycle of passion and dispassion in my life.

What do I mean? Let’s use my creative work as an example.

I’ve been creating content for the past eight years (wow, it just hit me how long it’s been!). When I first started, I was just beginning to shoot wedding photography and films. I was filled with fervor with each wedding or couple’s shoot. Every photo, every click of my camera's shutter energized me.

Needless to say, the fervor didn’t last. And every time my passion waned, it was because of external factors. Running your own business is tough. Finances are stressful.

That gave me my first wave of dispassion with creating content. It eventually passed, but it kept returning.

Ultimately, in 2024, I shot my last wedding. I knew it was time to close that chapter and focus on a different path.

Every part of my life is affected by external factors, no matter how much I try to prevent it. Work gets stressful, and my motivation or energy to create dwindles. Something isn’t working correctly at work? My patience evaporates. My apartment is a mess? Just another distraction from creating something.

The past holiday season was no exception. Between the busyness of work and family events, I felt I had little time or energy to create. I was constantly tired and perpetually busy.

But if there’s one thing about this cycle of passion and its absence, it’s that it’s almost always temporary.

There will be times when work feels like a slog, when you hate getting out of bed. There will be times when your interpersonal relationships struggle.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that it’s okay to feel dispassionate sometimes. You can’t outrun it, and sometimes you just have to accept it.

The passion will return. It may be different, or for something completely new, but it will come back.

You will find meaning, purpose, and passion again as long as you keep going.

As always, thanks for reading. ❤️

Talk soon,

Drew