I’m working on a little behind-the-scenes housekeeping of my website in spare moments, in anticipation of a big milestone coming up. As I’ve looked back at some of my writing from across the years, the message I’m taking away is this:
No one has read it all.
That might sound discouraging, but I actually find it really encouraging to know that. It means that the words speak to the people they speak to, and that readers come and go. Even I, the author, can’t possibly recall every one of the 1,800+ posts here.
The same is true of all art: no contemporary heard all of Mozart’s music, or Schubert’s. No one has laid eyes on every Monet painting. Few people have the interest, time, or resources to be completist in any attainable way. The fact that you keep creating anyway, knowing it won’t reach everyone who read your last thing, makes it all the more special when people do read.
No one has read it all, but everything has been read by someone. And the best work has made a difference to someone.