Last night I listened to a good conversation between Kate Bowler and Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity. One of my favorite things Liz Gilbert said was (loosely paraphrasing): In our culture we get so obsessed with having a higher purpose, as if having/living a life isn't pretty incredible on its own. This hit me hard.
I also started Katherine May's "Wintering." So, I think I'm just going to hunker down and accept the season for what it is.
I finished my backyard studio (over a year in the making) and yet, here I sit in the kitchen. My bread is proofing for another three hours, the dog is always going to be needy, whether I'm here or not (and will survive) and I am making lists rather than getting out there. I loved this post. It is all about practice, isn't it? I know this well. Time to bring the kindling to the studio and carefully start making the fire. And I will definitely make up the loft bed for Bridget!
I'm sure you've discussed this before but one of my friends always endorses the importance of "fallow fields" for any kind of work--that is, there are always slow periods and that's part of the work. Without them nothing grows.
And while this quotation doesn't quite align with the comment on invitation, your comment nevertheless made me think of Michael Ondaatje's line "art steps forward as accident."
I celebrate Nowruz (the Iranian new year, but also celebrated widely elsewhere in Asia and in the diaspora), so I try to see February and March as preparing for that. Doing spring cleaning, growing sprouts from dried lentils for the Haft Seen table, and so on. But it’s also very cold here in Toronto. To survive, I bundle up with wool base layers for daily walks, go to sleep early, wake up with the intention to journal and save exercise for later in the day, have lots of warm drinks as treats, bake on the weekends. And just think of it as a season of preparation and rest. Starting today I’m also spending the next 30 days off social media and using the internet at specific times of day.
For those of us who live by Groundhog Day, every day is Day 1. Reset to Zero (Colin Wright) works for me to establish new starts each month, so today is clean-out day. My January notebook is fat so I'm ok so far this year. Herb Picking Day is good for anyone who wants a do-over. That's a freeform holiday that you can assign on any day, like a joker in a deck, whenever you need to just celebrate Yourself. May our Muses have a cheerful, helpful neat four weeks of February. I don't do any of the traditional holidays.
I’ve always used February as the start of the year on the account that the holidays always mess up finishing things. January is the time I get to finish December. For the believers in astrology this January was plagued by two planets retrograding. Mars that gives us energy and Mercury that controls many things among contracts, projects and things we promise to do. That’s my excuse! I’m taking the first ten days of February to visit my adult kids in California. When I come back I look forward to start things. In my original country in South America the year starts on March 1, when all kids start their first day of school, which ends on December 1.
Another new year for you - Judaism has four - Tu B’Shevat, the new year for trees, is Feb. 6 (begins at sundown Feb. 5) Plant something and watch it grow. Even carrot tops on the kitchen windowsill will bring spring into your winter.
February is my birth month and I’m launching my crowdfunding campaign for my arts space in Oakland tomorrow :) I love February, this is going to be my month and my year!!
Keep up with my drumming practice ( I notice it really makes me feel "alive"), maybe get back into some sort of art'ing, crack down on finding a more fulfilling job but really? I'd like to get back into reading without feeling guilty or that I'm wasting time.
Im surviving by doing things that keep me alive-- music, writing and art ... filling up a page a day at time and hopefully at the end of it all I have something worth to put out to the world ... giving myself false hope and exciting myself for the future one day at a time really 🌞 🔁 🌙
Every walk I take is a noticing walk! A friend once complained his neighborhood was boring, and I refused to believe it. He just wasn't paying attention. I love Rob Walker's work, and don't know how I missed 50 Sad Chairs. It's right up my alley (and I have seen many a sad chair in the alleys around here). This all reminded me of the book Drunk Furniture: The Secret Life of Unsober Sofas by Rhodri Marsden. They used one of my photos! Swoon.
As for surviving February (and winter), I always take a full week off work to celebrate Darwin's Day (2/12). Pre-pandemic we usually took a trip to the Oregon or Washington coast for a few days, but have moved that to warmer summertime now. I'm hoping for a couple of nice days to get out for day trips, and this year we'll be starting to shop for a new trailer so we can go camping again. It may be cold and crappy weather, but signs of spring are starting to show and the days are getting longer. Somehow we get through it all every year!
Thank you for writing about time, and time perception in the past years. It made me realize how I don't understand the time and how difficult it is for me to live in a timed world.
My family has long agreed with Kevin Killeen’s dad. Four of my five grandparents died in February (the other died the last week in January). And my mother died on February 28 last year. She was very ill and I said to my husband that morning, “It’s the last day of February. She’s going to go today.” And she did.
I love the absurdity of Groundhog Day, a day dedicated to a rodent who will eat my lettuces later on when snow stops blanketing New England. The sun is promising warmth, even if it is not delivering yet. My family will gather for a meal of sausages (ground hog), root vegetables from the ground, potatoes, root beer, and brownies, brown like the earth. We will visit with no expectation of presents, decorations, or complicated rituals. Then I will take a deep breath, exhale, and slip through the rest of winter.
I love the idea of starting things in February and letting January do it’s own thing. What a relief! I’ve always looked at January as a bit of a hunkering down period- I’m too busy still hibernating (as much as I can with a day job).
Turns out I’ve also written about this in my newsletter this week (not out yet).
So 3 things for February: (1) Remember this motto. "Discipline is remembering what I want." (Seen on a yoga studio's bulletin board many moons ago.)
So (2) I have a way of finishing 90 percent of a task and leaving 10 percent undone...and this action, or rather nonaction, has a way of snowballing. So my first baby step. I cannot leave any unwashed items in the kitchen sink...it's never many...a couple of unwashed knives, a small pot. I did not sit down to write this until I had cleaned up the sink. And guess what...this good habit now affects my art (I am a book artist), and other areas of my life.
(3) Do fun and crazy things in February. I coloured some valentines (yes, I know it's kind of a hokey holiday) with dyed shaving cream. Had a blast. Here's how to do it: Squirt some shaving cream on a paper plate. Squeeze a couple of dabs of pink, and/or red acrylic paint on the shaving cream. Partially mix. Take a pre cut valentine shaped piece of paper (water color or card stock paper is better, ie something heavier than text weight) and place face down in the shaving cream. But don't completely cover it with painted shaving cream. Pick up valentine and scrape excess paint off with a scrapper, say a wind shield scrapper. Kids love this (and so does this adult). And I laughed a lot. Unfortunately, no way to attach photos to this comment....
Last night I listened to a good conversation between Kate Bowler and Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity. One of my favorite things Liz Gilbert said was (loosely paraphrasing): In our culture we get so obsessed with having a higher purpose, as if having/living a life isn't pretty incredible on its own. This hit me hard.
I also started Katherine May's "Wintering." So, I think I'm just going to hunker down and accept the season for what it is.
I finished my backyard studio (over a year in the making) and yet, here I sit in the kitchen. My bread is proofing for another three hours, the dog is always going to be needy, whether I'm here or not (and will survive) and I am making lists rather than getting out there. I loved this post. It is all about practice, isn't it? I know this well. Time to bring the kindling to the studio and carefully start making the fire. And I will definitely make up the loft bed for Bridget!
I'm sure you've discussed this before but one of my friends always endorses the importance of "fallow fields" for any kind of work--that is, there are always slow periods and that's part of the work. Without them nothing grows.
And while this quotation doesn't quite align with the comment on invitation, your comment nevertheless made me think of Michael Ondaatje's line "art steps forward as accident."
I celebrate Nowruz (the Iranian new year, but also celebrated widely elsewhere in Asia and in the diaspora), so I try to see February and March as preparing for that. Doing spring cleaning, growing sprouts from dried lentils for the Haft Seen table, and so on. But it’s also very cold here in Toronto. To survive, I bundle up with wool base layers for daily walks, go to sleep early, wake up with the intention to journal and save exercise for later in the day, have lots of warm drinks as treats, bake on the weekends. And just think of it as a season of preparation and rest. Starting today I’m also spending the next 30 days off social media and using the internet at specific times of day.
For those of us who live by Groundhog Day, every day is Day 1. Reset to Zero (Colin Wright) works for me to establish new starts each month, so today is clean-out day. My January notebook is fat so I'm ok so far this year. Herb Picking Day is good for anyone who wants a do-over. That's a freeform holiday that you can assign on any day, like a joker in a deck, whenever you need to just celebrate Yourself. May our Muses have a cheerful, helpful neat four weeks of February. I don't do any of the traditional holidays.
I’ve always used February as the start of the year on the account that the holidays always mess up finishing things. January is the time I get to finish December. For the believers in astrology this January was plagued by two planets retrograding. Mars that gives us energy and Mercury that controls many things among contracts, projects and things we promise to do. That’s my excuse! I’m taking the first ten days of February to visit my adult kids in California. When I come back I look forward to start things. In my original country in South America the year starts on March 1, when all kids start their first day of school, which ends on December 1.
Another new year for you - Judaism has four - Tu B’Shevat, the new year for trees, is Feb. 6 (begins at sundown Feb. 5) Plant something and watch it grow. Even carrot tops on the kitchen windowsill will bring spring into your winter.
February is my birth month and I’m launching my crowdfunding campaign for my arts space in Oakland tomorrow :) I love February, this is going to be my month and my year!!
Keep up with my drumming practice ( I notice it really makes me feel "alive"), maybe get back into some sort of art'ing, crack down on finding a more fulfilling job but really? I'd like to get back into reading without feeling guilty or that I'm wasting time.
Im surviving by doing things that keep me alive-- music, writing and art ... filling up a page a day at time and hopefully at the end of it all I have something worth to put out to the world ... giving myself false hope and exciting myself for the future one day at a time really 🌞 🔁 🌙
Every walk I take is a noticing walk! A friend once complained his neighborhood was boring, and I refused to believe it. He just wasn't paying attention. I love Rob Walker's work, and don't know how I missed 50 Sad Chairs. It's right up my alley (and I have seen many a sad chair in the alleys around here). This all reminded me of the book Drunk Furniture: The Secret Life of Unsober Sofas by Rhodri Marsden. They used one of my photos! Swoon.
https://www.alibris.com/Drunk-Furniture-The-Secret-Life-of-Unsober-Sofas-Rhodri-Marsden/book/29796331
As for surviving February (and winter), I always take a full week off work to celebrate Darwin's Day (2/12). Pre-pandemic we usually took a trip to the Oregon or Washington coast for a few days, but have moved that to warmer summertime now. I'm hoping for a couple of nice days to get out for day trips, and this year we'll be starting to shop for a new trailer so we can go camping again. It may be cold and crappy weather, but signs of spring are starting to show and the days are getting longer. Somehow we get through it all every year!
Hejo Austin, I've given the idea of 12-month year up because it was too stressful. My year has 13 months. You can read more about it here: https://www.wiktoriadalach.com/the-13-month-year/
Thank you for writing about time, and time perception in the past years. It made me realize how I don't understand the time and how difficult it is for me to live in a timed world.
Take care!
My family has long agreed with Kevin Killeen’s dad. Four of my five grandparents died in February (the other died the last week in January). And my mother died on February 28 last year. She was very ill and I said to my husband that morning, “It’s the last day of February. She’s going to go today.” And she did.
I love the absurdity of Groundhog Day, a day dedicated to a rodent who will eat my lettuces later on when snow stops blanketing New England. The sun is promising warmth, even if it is not delivering yet. My family will gather for a meal of sausages (ground hog), root vegetables from the ground, potatoes, root beer, and brownies, brown like the earth. We will visit with no expectation of presents, decorations, or complicated rituals. Then I will take a deep breath, exhale, and slip through the rest of winter.
I love the idea of starting things in February and letting January do it’s own thing. What a relief! I’ve always looked at January as a bit of a hunkering down period- I’m too busy still hibernating (as much as I can with a day job).
Turns out I’ve also written about this in my newsletter this week (not out yet).
So 3 things for February: (1) Remember this motto. "Discipline is remembering what I want." (Seen on a yoga studio's bulletin board many moons ago.)
So (2) I have a way of finishing 90 percent of a task and leaving 10 percent undone...and this action, or rather nonaction, has a way of snowballing. So my first baby step. I cannot leave any unwashed items in the kitchen sink...it's never many...a couple of unwashed knives, a small pot. I did not sit down to write this until I had cleaned up the sink. And guess what...this good habit now affects my art (I am a book artist), and other areas of my life.
(3) Do fun and crazy things in February. I coloured some valentines (yes, I know it's kind of a hokey holiday) with dyed shaving cream. Had a blast. Here's how to do it: Squirt some shaving cream on a paper plate. Squeeze a couple of dabs of pink, and/or red acrylic paint on the shaving cream. Partially mix. Take a pre cut valentine shaped piece of paper (water color or card stock paper is better, ie something heavier than text weight) and place face down in the shaving cream. But don't completely cover it with painted shaving cream. Pick up valentine and scrape excess paint off with a scrapper, say a wind shield scrapper. Kids love this (and so does this adult). And I laughed a lot. Unfortunately, no way to attach photos to this comment....