🔍 Line by Line: Learning How to Learn, Creating to Survive

A raw look at survival roles, creativity, and finding your place — one line at a time.

Hey — I’m Jon Murphy, psychiatric nurse practitioner. This is Line by Line, and I’m just showing up to create. No script, no polish. Just doing it.

What’s this really about? Creation — and learning.

Because that voice in your head? The one that says, “You’re not helping anyone”? I’ve heard it. I started this work at 23 with that exact voice in my head. But I kept going. Even when I felt selfish. Even when I felt inadequate. Something about showing up — helping others — made life feel lighter.

And here's the thing: if you’re here now, you survived.

We’re wired to find safety in others. Babies don’t survive alone. We attach. We mimic. We figure out who we have to be to keep the group stable. Sometimes that means becoming the peacemaker, the helper — or even the scapegoat. You learn to find your place. And if you’re lucky, you also find an outlet.

For me, that was creativity. Music, humor, expression. It didn’t fix what was missing, but it helped me survive.

Now at 40, after ADHD, trauma, and years of sorting through all of it — I’ve found my place. I know who I am. And I know this: we can learn to learn. We can learn to create. And when we do it with intention, it changes everything.

Thanks for being here.
This is Line by Line, powered by Focus Path — www.myfocuspath.com
—Jon Murphy, PMHNP-BC