Hey folks, I’m on a virtual retreat of unscheduling, or un-should-ing, so I took a break from publishing extracts from my “artist’s way companion”. Back later this week. In the meantime, here are some musings from earlier.
Table of Contents
5 things for which I’m grateful
- Deep rest meditation retreats
- Snacks
- Stationery—now able to sort a bunch of articles I’ve printed out and such, and that’s making my life easier
- Dream yoga—helping me sleep and listen to myself
- Friendship—friends, with you to the end :notes:
Reading ‘How to Do Nothing’ by Jenny Odell
Listening to How to do Nothing at 1am feels a little bit ironic… and writing weeknotes at 3am. And waking at midnight before that. Sigh.
Thankfully I went on retreat soon after.
I’ve been musing about how to be freelance and not feel like every waking moment (or sleeping!) I could/should be working. It’s so pervasive. Even down to writing for my weeknotes, which make up my personal brand and therefore contribute to my ‘productivity’ and ‘marketability’.
I am exploring this tho. And Jenny Odell’s book is helping a lot.
I like this “8 hours for work, 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for what we will.” (From labour movements campaigning for a reduction in work hours.)
Where work is any generative — not productive! — activity. And privilege maintenance and care over growth. People over profit. Community.
Where “what we will” is stuff like bird listening/observing, wandering woodland, listening to the wind, conversation, music, yoga, meditation, board games. It may include screens, but not loads. And it doesn’t include social media. I wonder about the space for social media, tbh. Reading!
And sleep includes sleep practices, well, not includes maybe is / may be preceded by. Like dream yoga.
On purpose
On community loving: People need people
I really wonder what Jenny Odell’s up to in the pandemic, if she’s shared any thinking. I’m thinking in these ‘don’t meet up with other households times’ community loving is key. (I meant to write living, but this was a good autocorrect.) Like, if I lived with friends right now… what a different experience my life would be.
Ooh, I want to create a Book of Blessings.
And another thing…
I’ve been thinking: We need librarians.