ELENA'S CREATIVE UPRISING - 2026 No. 04

In this issue: Choosing to Choose

CREATIVE CORNER
- The Creative Arts

UNITY and COMMUNITY
- Elena’s Creative Community - JOIN US at this new end-of-week respite, the Wisdom Group!

WELLNESS
- Life in Balance - the end of the Substack trail....

ACTIVISM
- Real-Life Activism
- Help if You’re Stopped by ICE

NEW YORK CITY
- Life in the City of Dreams

QUOTE
Dembe on The Blacklist, written by Lukas Reiter

Photo above by Steve Harrris on Unsplash

April 29, 2026

Choosing to Make a Choice: Be the Architect of Your Life, Not a Bystander

In thinking about what I would write in the Introduction to this Newsletter, initially stumped for a topic, I was surprised to awaken a few days ago hearing a phrase that I immediately knew was to be the topic.

Choose to choose is the phrase I heard mentally—quite loudly, in fact—when I woke up. When I asked myself what it meant, I first reworded the phrase as choose to make a choice. But a choice about what? I let the phrase “sit” with me for another day or so until it began to reveal itself.

Choosing to make a choice means engaging actively with life. It means living each day in the way that we intend, taking a stand when a stand needs taking, choosing actions that reflect our values and help us realize our dreams. It means living intentionally and not on automatic.

Much of our lives can be lived unintentionally, just going with the flow, coasting in neutral, doing whatever pops up next, letting life happen to us. Not choosing. But is that the way we want to live? Allowing ourselves to be moved by the tides of circumstance, without any real choice in how we use our lives? Letting our task list determine what we do rather than using it as a reflection of our choices? That is living by default, living in passive rather than active mode. That can be true even for those who appear to be living an upscale life.

Right now, while it seems the world is burning and the country is imploding, it’s sometimes tempting to say What could I possibly do that will matter? and pull the covers over your head. I understand, I do. But try looking at it through a different lens. Try seeing how you can get the most out of this life. Do you really want to spend the precious minutes you have on earth under the covers? If you’re on the young side, it likely feels as though you have unlimited time, that a few wasted days don’t matter, but your time on this planet is finite, and you’ll become more aware of that with every year that passes.

Particularly in times such as these, when so much that is of value is on the line, the way we live makes a difference—for us and for the world. And as someone who can now be called an “elder,” I know how little time we have to contribute to the world, to support those around us, to realize our potential, and to fully live with our entire being. I’ve seen so many people cruise through life without fully choosing, even some you might consider accomplished.

We have so little time to make use of the life we’ve been given. Every single day counts. Every moment counts. Every choice counts. When you look back at the end, don’t let it be a disappointment to you.

Choosing to make a choice means being the architect of your life, not a bystander. What do you choose today?

And on that note....

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2. ONLINE WORK-TOGETHERS provide support in getting your creative work done in the space of community. We gather on Google Meet every Monday at 2:00 pm US Eastern. Working alone but within an intentional group space is surprisingly supportive and highly productive! Creatives in any genre or medium are invited. There’s currently no charge.
Note: While there are many work-togethers for writers now, as far as I’m aware, my Work-Together is the only one that’s specifically for any creative in any field of creative work. Writers predominate, but if you’d like to work on your music, acting sides, painting, clown makeup, video production, or any other form of creative expression, this is the place to be!

If you’re interested in either group, drop me your name and email address at egreco@elenagreco.com so I can add you to the invitation sent out the day before the group. See Elena’s Creative Community for more information.

I’ve studied nutrition, healing, and holistic medicine for 50 years. It’s a passion of mine. I integrate the best of all worlds in the strategy for health I’ve developed in all those years. And I’ve written a book, LIFE IN BALANCE: What it really is, how to get it, and how to maintain it.

For the last two (?!) years, I’ve been offering Substack readers the first draft of this book one chapter at a time as I wrote it. Now that I have almost finished the draft, I’ve taken it down from public view on Substack and my website. And after taking a few weeks to edit it, I’ll self-publish it in July.

For those considering this path of writing a book by posting chapters serially on Substack, I did find the impetus of sharing each chapter publicly on a regular pre-advertised schedule to be wonderfully motivational and freeing. Committing to that process removed the decision of what and whether to write; just “next Wednesday is my Substack publishing day, so I must finish my current chapter by then.” With all the many projects I have swirling in the background, I would not have been able to complete this as quickly and—mostly—effortlessly if I hadn’t committed to doing it this way.

There is in this strategy of writing, of course, the experience of sharing publicly something that isn’t finished, something that still contains flaws, which is perhaps an uncomfortable experience for those of us who tend to perfectionism. But I’d imagine my readers appreciated being able to read this not-quite-ready-for-prime-time version for free prior to my publishing a finished product more formally. So the readers benefitted, and I benefitted. And, of course, the book got written!

I’ll let you know once it’s published. Here’s to living Life in Balance!