And so we begin... again
... and other wonderful ways to begin again I have loved this week
Hello long neglected friends, I’m sorry I have been so absent. Nothing like a new year to galvanise lurking background guilt into action. Or maybe it was a proper break that has refuelled me sufficiently to start tapping away again. I am currently in the car driving back from Cornwall feeling surprisingly rested – quite a miracle for January 5th. And not due to any sort of abstemious living, I think it’s just good old-fashioned sleep, many lols with dear friends and fresh air.
Given that we’re in peak habit-starting season, I am going to get back on the Substack horse. It turns out writing is just like any other habit – when you’re in it, you can’t imagine a version of you that doesn’t ___ (insert preferred smug resolution – going to the gym, not eating sugar etc etc). But as soon as you stop, you’re screwed. Getting back on the horse is infinitely harder than leaping off. I am going to offer an excuse of sorts here, which is that my reason for pausing was because I was writing a book, in fact I still am. And it all felt too much on top of the day job, and home job and in lots of ways it still does. But dropping the ball entirely is not the answer because you then feel terrible about not doing what you said you would, and getting back on becomes an intimidating point of pride as well as whatever time-related issue you were wrestling with before. It’s also unimaginative. On or off / all or nothing, when actually there’s a million different versions of that thing you could do that require less time but still honour that original intention.
So in that vein, I am going to start writing this again but get a bit less prescriptive about what that might be. It could just be an inspired quote, something I’ve read or a brilliant person I’ve spoken to (and luckily for you I’m coming across quite a lot of those at the moment in the researching of said book). And sometimes I might find myself desperate to write 1000 words about dandelions or the best seaweed to eat. This strategy also applies to all other resolutions – a little bit of flex might make them last longer.
For me this year it’s more adventure both garden-based and otherwise, more physical strength (Toes To Bar IYKYK), even fewer new clothes (a successful roll on from last year, thank you Vinted), even more boundaries on social media (AppBlock is a depressingly but now necessary addition to my subscription list - actually edit the subscription list is a good one). Less sugar and more saying yes to my kids, although not about sugar. Doing more stuff with my hands and encouraging kids to do that too – I have a very slow embroidery on the go which is the perfect level of attention/distraction to get lost in an audiobook - famously gardening strikes a very similar balance. On that, I am also going to finish our garden at home. In fact a man with Size 15 feet is arriving tomorrow morning with a digger to start carving some structure out of the swamp. And be less intimidated by writing this. We’re off!
Other great lists I have read this week (is the best thing about new year’s resolutions reading other peoples?
Clover Stroud’s list to feel more present in 2015
This Plate Will Save Your Life on debunking the insanity of diet culture in peak frenzy season
A GREAT way to start a new habit with your hands – 30 days of drawing
