Too often, I forget that the quest for “perfection” is my way of procrastinating.
This is likely part of a fear response, the nagging certainty that if I don’t achieve perfection on my first attempt (no matter how much experience I may have with something), it means that I am, inherently, unworthy.
Instead, I will hoard knowledge. I will tell myself I am “preparing” to create, whether that’s art or an archival document. I will tell myself that preparation is important…and it is. But preparation taken too far is cowardice, it is hiding away from the world and telling yourself that any moment now you’ll finally be enough, have enough, to participate in the world without opening yourself to hurt or error.
And that is simply not how life works.
We do not exist, preserved on the precipice, of a game that has not yet loaded and so has no consequences. We age, we deteriorate, and we go to whatever end awaits us—where all our preparations for a life we never lived will amount to nothing.
Towards that end, we are creating here a living archive, a place where it cannot be assumed that an article is our final word on a matter. New research is always made, new encounters take place, new mysteries are uncovered. Each article that we upload onto Gathering Breadcrumbs serves only as the sharing of knowledge we have gained up to that point.
As you peruse these archives, we would appreciate it if you took note of any information we were missing and notified us about it at GatheringBreadcrumbs@gmail.com. You will receive not only our thanks but, should you be open to it, acknowledgement as a field researcher.
~ Haloveir