These quiet moments are treasures

Corinne Cunningham on success as an inward thing, the importance of trusting your intuition, and celebrating quiet souls.

I am so excited to share another interview with you this week. Did you have a chance to read the one with Essie Richards?

I started this series because I still have so many questions about what success is, what it means, whether it matters, why we might want it, and how it could look. So I am asking other people for their perspectives and experiences on this many layered topic. I am blown away by the thoughtful responses and perspectives that I’ve received so far and I know that it deepening, broadening, and supporting my ideas about success. This week we have the pleasure of hearing from Corinne Cunningham.

Corinne’s experiences as a writer, knitter, creative person, and home educator inform her thoughtful and supportive approach. I have learned so much as a member of her Patreon where I get to experience her ability to listen and engage with many ideas and perspectives and always offer a meaningful response. Corinne is the author of Farm Girl and Paths Through the Year and shares her approach to seasonal and gentle living on her YouTube channel.

I hope you’ll enjoy Corinne’s perspective on success in the small every day parts of life that might actually be the most important.

You’ve written and published two books, maintained a monthly newsletter, shared your work on patreon and social media, and created a supportive community for writers and makers. So much of your work and what you share seems, to me, to be about being comfortable where you are, appreciating the life you live, and offering so much support to yourself and others. Is success something you think about or believe in? How has your perspective on success changed as you have gone further with your writing? 

First, thank you for inviting me into these thoughtful questions and your corner of the internet! 

In general, I think of success the way I did when my kids were little: if by the end of the day we were all still alive, fed, and speaking to one another, I was successful. Now, all these years later, I still feel that way. If at the end of the day I’m breathing, fed (mind and body), and I’m still in tune with myself and my loved ones, I call it a success. And when it comes to my writing, if I’m showing up, putting pen to paper, or moving forward in some small way, I feel successful. It’s an inward thing, rather than outward. If we believe we’re successful just by doing the daily work, in my mind, there’s less striving for accolades and the type of success that’s bestowed upon us by others. When and if those things do come, they’re icing on the cake instead of the cake itself.

You’ve shared parts of your life so beautifully in your YouTube videos. How does sharing and getting feedback (or not getting feedback) affect how you see your life and your work? When there are so many messages about what success is and how we should get there, I am wondering how you approach creating a life you love? 

Thank you! This is such an interesting set of questions. When I first started sharing videos on YouTube, I had to get clear on my why, which ended up being: to show that a quiet, thoughtful, kind life is worthy and has value. In doing so, I hoped to validate others who live similarly. It’s why I write the type of fiction I write, as well. The majority of life is made up of ordinary moments, right? We might as well shine a little rose colored light on them at times! 

To get back to your question, while what I share is authentic and true, I spend time thinking about what I’m going to film, prop the camera for angles I want, and create a scene much like for a photograph or when writing an essay. I craft the content with a combination of reality and the idea I have in mind. And so the effect that sharing my work has on my life is that I think I pay even closer attention to what’s in front of me. I’m not always looking for things to film, but there’s an added layer of introspection and maybe consciousness of process in previously overlooked areas. For example, finding the beauty in daily chores. Theoretically, I’ve known there’s beauty in those moments; I’ve probably even written about it. But now, I sometimes look at things from the outside in and can recognize that, yes, in the bigger picture of life and our days, these quiet moments are treasures in many ways. Folding laundry is so much more than folding laundry… but sometimes, folding laundry is just folding laundry! And that’s all part of it, too. 

When it comes to feedback, I’ve been fortunate to have largely positive supporters, which has been validating. It is tricky when there isn’t feedback. On Patreon, for example, I find that people are less likely to interact with posts than on other platforms. We’re so used to the instant gratification that comes with likes on Instagram, it’s hard when there are crickets. But, again, I trust that people are signed up as Patrons because they care, and that’s a form of feedback in itself. 

I think because of the process of sharing, not necessarily the feedback, creating a life I love has become more layered and nuanced. I genuinely think that filming has given me different views into my own world. That, in combination with getting quiet and listening to my desires and needs, has helped me to strip away what’s unnecessary, as much as possible, and focus on what I need in my life to feel secure, safe, and inspired. Much of it comes down to one thing: creativity, and space to explore and integrate creativity into all aspects of my life.

I loved hearing more about your experience self-publishing your second book, Paths Through the Year, and the way that you shared the writing process with supporters. Self-publishing seems like an incredible way to champion your own work, but I imagine any major work like that could bring up many other feelings as well. What helps you to feel confident about your creative work? What makes it hard for you to believe in your success and advocate for who you are, where you are, or what you are doing?

Oh absolutely. Putting a book out into the world is no small feat, and you’re right, there are many emotions that come up through the process. While self-publishing is more widely accepted than it was even a few years ago, there are still negative assumptions made about why folks choose that route. With Paths, I went about it in a way that felt supported, using Patreon to share the process of the book as it was written, and having that support helped me to continue through periods of doubt. My reach might be small, but it’s heartfelt, and the connections I have with my readers feel deep and meaningful. That’s success, to me. Remembering those points help me to feel confident in the work I’m doing and how I choose to share my writing and other creations.

Of course, it’s challenging to keep in mind when we see folks doing similar things blowing up on social media. If I’m not careful, I can spiral into a “why isn’t it happening for me?” pool of angst. But when that happens, I tell myself that my career is (hopefully!) long, and to trust in my own timing. I have a sticky note on my bulletin board that reads, “I embrace the organic growth of my writing life,” and I read it daily. My process, my ways, tend to be slow, steady, and organic. Whenever I put algorithmic constraints or formulas overtop my work, they don’t mesh, and it’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Instead of fighting it, and making my work bend to the algorithms, I feel my success lies in trusting my intuition and where it leads me. Most times, it’s not flashy, quick-paced, or trendy, but it resonates deeply with my supporters.

Do you have any thoughts or ideas about how we can do more to support ourselves and each other as we find our own paths to success?

The more we can tune into our why, what our values are, and what we need, the easier it is to figure out what type of support we need. If we honor our desires and get quiet to hear those small guiding voices within, we can move in ways that are aligned with our natures, our goals, and our life, allowing for synchronicity, flow, and ease. Coming from that point, we can more easily support ourselves and each other with an awareness of our energy and our capacities. Without that all of that, I find it challenging to even know where to turn to for help, find the language to ask for what I need, or to help others without burnout or resentment creeping in.

If you’d like to share, I’d love to hear about something you are proud of or successful at that you wish the world would recognize, appreciate, and celebrate. And something you are proud of or successful at that is just for you.

I wish the world would celebrate quiet souls more. I’m proud of who I am, and the way I communicate with quiet stories and videos, but it can feel like an uphill battle to create enough of a buffer for people to slow down and appreciate work and creators that aren’t shouting for attention. Thankfully, the people who do find me and stick around to read my books or watch my videos are often kindred souls who speak the same quiet language and sing similar heart songs.

And something I’m proud of, just for me, is that my oldest is headed off to college next month, after being homeschooled from kindergarten to high school, and I’m immensely proud that I was able to walk alongside his journey and support him thus far. Of course, I’m proud of him and his accomplishments, and who he is as a person, but I’m also proud of myself for the work, time, sleepless nights, and commitment it took for us to get here.

Thank you so much for sharing, Corinne!

You can find more of Corinne’s work at her website, Patreon, Instagram, or YouTube.