When a juggler juggles…

· by · in Writing. ·
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Juggle Man by Capture The Uncapturable, (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

When a juggler juggles, a strange phenomenon happens as the world slows down to watch in awe, and the juggler speeds up and shuffles two, four, six, eight clubs until they are all spinning between his hands like specks of dust caught in a funnel of light.

Strange phenomenon indeed. Even stranger I suspect, from a juggler’s perspective, although I wouldn’t know, I can barely toss two apples in the air without one of them hitting the ground.

What I can juggle is jobs. And I’ve had so many balls in the air for so long that I might even be good at it. Oh, and I still haven’t lost all my marbles. Just one or two, give or take.

I’ve been juggling 2- 3 jobs for over 5 years. And out of those 5 years, I spent 4 of them feeling scattered, purposeless, abnormal, worthless. How hard can it be landing a full-time job? Will I ever find stability? How long is this part-time jobs malarkey going to go on for? Turns out, probably forever. The only difference being: I am now okay with it. Perfectly okay. Excited even. Curious.

What’s changed, you ask? Oh, everything has changed but let’s talk about mindset.

How many writers are “just” writers? Probably zero. Reasons may vary of course, and although it is certainly not senseless to secure another job at the beginning, I think it should go further than ‘how do I earn enough money to go to Bali?’

Writers are the quintessential multitaskers.

 

 

Not only do they have to be writer, reader and editor at once, they also have to wear a thousand hats and step into their characters’ shoes, they have to research, live, experience, feed from all the turmoil and all the darkness and spit it out on paper, then rehash, rethink and spit it out again until they make sense of it all.

And beyond what they have to be, there is also what they can be. Spokesmen, advocates of various causes, fighters, healers, teachers… How many juggling clubs are we at? I count sixteen and I bet you can think of many more.

Thoughts?

12 responses to “When a juggler juggles…”

  1. And writers must also make a living 😂and that doesn’t come easily at the start. I applaud you for keeping at it. That’s the sign of a good and dedicated artist. You have so many talents it would be a shame to only write.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I juggled many jobs and writing and raising a family etc. for so long. I am now retired but it feels odd to not have all those jobs. Writing is a job I will always have. Some of us just need to be busy to survive. Great article.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I don’t think it ever changes, Eli… fulltime job or part time, you’re always juggling, trading this off against that, trying to make all aspects of you meet instead of always swapping hats. At least, that’s what I find. You’re happier if you accept it. Its all part and parcel of life. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Ali!! You’re absolutely right, it never stops, I just had to come to terms with it and embrace the lifestyle. Definitely happier if you accept and make it work for yourself.

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  6. Like you, I think juggling is what all writers do. Part time jobs are theoretically better than full time, although if you teach writing part time, Parkinson’s Law dictates grading essays will fill almost ALL the teacher’s time. We have to remind each other to make time for the writing.

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