Milestone: 400th subscriber for the Tiny Bits Newsletter

Today, we are welcoming the 400th subscriber to The Tiny Bits Newsletter. I’d like to pause for a moment to express my sincere gratitude. Thank you to all of the loyal readers who subscribed this year.

I’m still, in numerous ways, a novice student in this field of writing. I started this endeavor in April as a beginner, driven by the aspiration to craft meaningful writings that provoke thought and touch the heart.

The audience of my newsletter has been a source of both inspiration and humility for me. It has kept me accountable, pushing me to deliver the best of my thoughts and expressions.

But for the longest time, the majority of the reflections, observations, and literary pieces I had come across and written down remained private and hidden from the light of day. I would meticulously confine them within my bookshelf, safely nestled between two covers, shielding them from prying eyes.

What I didn’t understand about creativity then, is that it longs to be set free. It’s akin to a tiny simmering creature, which, if not respected or even ignored, will awaken into a beast that will trample over you without remorse, in order to force its way onto the paper.

Our duty is to liberate it, just as ensuring the fulfillment of life’s basic necessities is. Expressions will be lost if left unanswered, as there is only one of us.

Thanks to this reading audience, I’ve discovered an additional platform for channeling this creative expression, and it’s only right to extend my thanks.

What I also came to understand about nurturing creativity, is the value of boredom and taking breaks every once in a while. I have spent a lot of my life in hotels this summer, which resulted in a different state of mind.

The rooms in Bali don’t look much the same as rooms in fast and ever-moving Europe. In most of the European rooms, you’ll encounter a composition that feels quite familiar.

You’ll find the TV on the wall. The coffee maker on the desk. Two cups turned upside down on a silver tray. Beside them some unopened tea bags that may have been there for a while.

All too often, particularly in London, I’ll wake up and walk to the window and pull the curtains aside. The featureless skyline that greets me appears strikingly similar to those of the previous city and the one before that. It’s another thriving metropolis, constantly evolving, with millions of moving parts.

When you wake up in Bali and pull back the curtain, you immediately know where you are. The scent of lotus, offered as incense to appease the gods, fills up not only the room but also the streets. As soon as you enter the city, the scent of kretek cigarettes welcomes you like a warm, comforting blanket.

The island is dotted with temples and shrines, and its mystical feel is woven into the fabric of everyday life through daily rituals like the Canang Sari, which express devotion and gratitude to the deities and ancestors in the Balinese Hindu faith.

The rhythm of the island has a slower pace of life. It is also, or so it seems, one of the few No Bullshit zones in the world. Pretentiousness, impatience, and a lack of a sense of humility will not get you far in Indonesia.

I have a deep affection for Bali. So any reason to return to this wonderful island, I will eagerly embrace. The opportunity to escape distractions for a while not only refreshes the mind but also turns out to be truly valuable and productive.

Following a period of seeking the ideal rhythm, one that aligns with my abilities and enables me to maintain quality, I carry on with the process of publishing stories.

Together, we will continue to decode the complexities of life, learning, and growth. With your support, I’m confident that this newsletter will continue to evolve and bring even more value to your inbox.  Thank you for sticking by me, and thanks to the insiders who have sent me their thoughts on books, and interesting questions in the past period. We’re thriving, and I couldn’t do this without you.