Good Morning, Glorious Human.

There's this amazing little bookstore near me (shout-out to Wellington Square Bookshop!) that Noah and I visited not too long ago for the first time. We floated around in there, marinating in the magical vibe, jewel-toned velvets, little treasures, and shelves of books that felt like you could tip one down into your hands, fold it open, and the magical world residing inside would bloom right out of it and engulf you right then and there.

Tucked on one side of the shop was a little wall of "Vintage Dictionary Art"... repurposed pages each individually dressed up with colorful illustrations and inspirational phrases... my heart exploded, I tell you!

As I thumbed through all the pretty pages, I landed on the one with the peacock riding an antique tricycle — it made no sense whatsoever, yet somehow made all the sense at the very same time. Who would have ever thought that a peacock riding a tricycle could belong so perfectly right there on that page with torpedos and torch dances?

The ridiculously unexpected thing. The thing nobody saw coming. That weird, beautiful peacock belonged there and I am so glad that it showed up.

I'm so glad that it showed up.

The Greatest Adventure is What Lies Ahead — and life is a soup of madness and beauty and pretty peacocks and torpedos.

What ridiculous, beautiful thing can I become today?

→ The Case for Making Art.

Oh, TEDx... you've done it again.

I just finished watching Amie McNee's talk over on the tubes. It gets better and better and better with her 15 minutes of yes I'm talking to YOU... you need to create. You are not exempt from the art of making things and sharing them just because you feel you aren't good enough or you missed your chance or it seems silly, frivolous, or selfish.

We all need to hear this. I wish we didn't need such convincing that our art matters in such a very real way. That our creativity is IMPORTANT (yes, in SHOUTY-CAPS). It's an important and beautifully human endeavor to make something that leaves your stamp on the world and in people's hearts.

Watch Amie's talk here and get inspired, you beautifully creative one!

→ From the Department of Things Your Ears Need...

My friend Caitlyn Deviney just released a brand new tune on Friday — it's a song about "holding spring through winter" and it's a toe-tapping, sunny kind of song. She wrote it about her experience finding music a little later in life (though compared to me, she's a couple of decades ahead of things).

Maybe we all feel like we're behind. I think we're all Late Bloomers ✨

And maybe peacocks, too.

Listen to Caitlyn's song, Late Bloomer!

↓

Maggie Pope is the Creator/Founder of Fire & Sound.

She's also a musician, songwriter, mother, and squirrel-in-the-christmas-tree-wrangler.