maybe being selfish is good? // what if I'm making the batcave because *I* need it??

BATCAVE LIVE today at 4pm EST - recording sent afterwards

There’s this voice in my head that says:

hey dipshit if you’re building a community, it can’t be about you.

it has to be for everyone else.

But what if that’s not true? What if the BATCAVE is, at least in part, a selfish thing? What if I started it because I need it because I’m lonely and want a place to feel less alone?

I heard Eliz Gilb say yesterday that she never does creative stuff for other people - she does them for herself.

Makes sense in terms of creative work like writing, but ‘community’? That’s literally for other people, no?

Maybe no.

Maybe its not a bad thing to be selfish, even when making a community for others?

Admitting that also feels spooky. “Hi, I am lonely. Hi, I need other people.” Yuck! I’m supposed to be a self-sufficient paragon of creative genius who needs nary a person - nary a one! - to do all the cool stuff he does.

Nope.

The only antidote I've found to the madness of my own brain is to talk to other people and be around other people. Somehow, through conversation and through seeing and being seen, I feel less terrible. I wouldn't say I feel great neccessarily, I just feel less bad.

And in the ‘glass is basically empty what are you talking about’ circles I run in, that’s a big win!

I’ve also been reading The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker to learn about what makes community hangs cool. She says the best hangs have a clear, even “disputable” purpose. Maybe the BATCAVE’s purpose is to give me and other ppl the permission to be selfish lil piggies?

So, for today’s BATCAVE LIVE - 4pm EST, that’ll be the theme / topic. I’ll share more of my own fears and if ‘called to,’ you can share yours:

• What gets in the way of putting your own creative needs first?

• How do you feel about the idea of being “selfish” in your art or community life?

This is our first “in the round” session—a new format, a new experiment. I’m still figuring out what the BATCAVE really is, and maybe you’re figuring out what your creative work is really for, too.

If any of this lands, would love to see you there.

BATCAVE members will get a recording as always.

-Sash

PS - I think this could be a cool pregame for our cowriting session on Saturday at 12pm.

Deets

• Wednesday, May today, 4pm EST

• On Zoom and recording

Ready to join?

All you gotta do is join BATCAVE here and I’ll send you the zoom link an hour or so before.

PS: I’ve been hearing from a few people that they think this ‘sounds chill’ but something is keeping them from signing up (will it be awk? will i suck? etc). If that’s you, fill out this form (it takes 2 seconds) and I’ll get you invites to the next few events!

Already in the BATCAVE?

I included a link in the header and footer of this post for you! Will also send a reminder.