expectations and deadlines and busyness ? How do you find yourself handling it ? Yes ! This has been a very heavy season work-wise , and I ’ ve been so grateful for the incredible response to Chasing Slow . I ’ ve found that I ’ ve had to be very selective and intentional in the volume of opportunities I can accept , so I suppose the very writing of this book was a great jumping off point for application ! Now I get to practice what I ’ ve preached . ;)
You wrote on your blog , in the post “ From Me to You ”, that writing your book changed you – how did it change you ? Do you still see those changes playing out in your day-today ? I think any time we come face to face with the person we truly are rather than the polished version we offer the world , we become changed . There is such beauty in accepting all facets of our lives - the good and the messy - and writing this book taught me that the distractions , the betterments , the fancying --- none of it works for long . We can veneer ourselves as much as we ’ d like , but we ’ re still ourselves . Meeting the real me on the page every morning was like meeting an old friend , and I ’ ve since learned to love even the most maddening parts of myself . ;)
You wrote a blog post that included tips you discovered for writing your book . Of those 15 tips , which ones surprised you most about the process ? Which were the hardest to work through ? The hardest , and most surprising , discovery was learning how gentle I ’ d need to be with myself during the writing process . This was a deeply vulnerable book and I ’ d underestimated how depleted I might feel when navigating certain parts of my story . There was a real and continuous temptation to skip over or brush past the murkier waters , and I ’ ve never been more certain that telling the truth is sometimes the bravest thing we can do for ourselves .
Now for the ubiquitous “ one truth ” question – if there is such a thing as one truth you would hope readers of your book would glean , what would it be ? ERIN : I hope readers can be encouraged that they are enough . That we are not our accolades , we are not our fancy cars , we are not our timestamps or degrees or marital status . We are not our mistakes and we are not our moments of glory . We are children of God , defined by nothing else , and when we can begin to place our identity in this unchanging circumstance , we can begin to free ourselves from chasing anything else .
Now the existential question of self – you have a long list of wonderful accomplishments , but you are quick to point out that those do not define who you are . You give your “ real bio ” to try and introduce readers of your blog to who you are , albeit just a glimpse . Do you see yourself in that light – the imperfect answer to expectations , but so much richer and more vibrant than expectations can possibly capture ?
Oh yes , absolutely . I ’ m learning to see everyone in that light - a crazed mix of contradictions and vibrant intricacies . When we begin to operate in the gray and learn to embrace the many facets of ourselves , we can finally begin to love all of ourselves - and learn to love all of others , as well .
To borrow from your “ real bio ” on your blog , because it is such a relevant question in light of your book , what are you learning right now ? With all the learned gems you laid out in your book , where do you see God taking you now ? Right now , I ’ ve been learning the beauty of living a rich , full life offline . I think there ’ s a real and true danger that exists when we begin to flatten ourselves into the online , two-dimension world , whether by way of condensing an easy-to-tweet thought or attempting to fit our entire personality in a 140-characters-or-less profile description . Life is complex and intricate ; it is not meant to be lived with only half of our senses , with only our wandering eyes and scrolling thumbs . I ’ ve been learning - and loving - the art of unplugging .
From reading a bit on your blog and after reading your book , it would seem that hospitality is a strong gift of yours , but not what some might expect – do you think of yourself as being gifted with hospitality ? Why or why not ? That ’ s such an insightful question ! I ’ m fairly introverted by nature , so I ’ ve never considered myself as having the gift of hospitality . I do love creating an in-