The last few weeks have been a blur of newness and big milestones. To call out a couple of the headlines: my son graduated from high school (HOW?), I’ve met a (for me) lot of new people, and I’ve brought on a co-founder and director of strategy at Crow Haus. An exhilarating time, to be sure. An exhausting time, as well. As I just texted to another small-business owner: “That drinking-from-a-firehose feeling! Good problems to have, though.” And they are! I love what I do so very, very much. It’s also true that I feel slightly crazy much of the time, lately. It will pass; I just hope that the choices I’m making now will serve, as I’m hoping they do, as solid scaffolding to support this next leg of the journey.
Here, then, is what I have to offer in this moment: a list of the things that are keeping the proverbial well filled during this time.
So many, many books. I read every night, or at least 99% of nights. A couple I’ve really enjoyed lately are Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey, The Alone Time by Elle Mar, and If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley, the latter of which I’ve yet to finish because it’s fun to just dip in and out of it.
Music. (But that’s all the time, anyway: I just seem to appreciate it more when I have less leisure time.) The latest from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Frogs, is about everything and it is deeply, deeply beautiful. I’ve been obsessed again lately with Roxy Music’s End of the Line. It’s gorgeous and I particularly love the way Bryan Ferry’s voice and the violin echo one another. Don’t Sweat the Technique from Eric B. & Rakim is pretty damn close to perfect, amazingly ageless, and it’s joyful as hell. Always Forever from Cults is like a delicious strawberry marshmallow eraser, clearing any and all unpleasantness from my brain. Lupe Fiasco’s Kick, Push remains a favorite — it’s just so sweet. This orchestra version of 2 Wicky by Hooverphonic deserves to be a James Bond song (that’s a huge compliment in my book). And speaking of James Bond songs: I’ve been listening to Adele’s Skyfall, with which I fell deeply in love from the moment I heard it in the opening credits. (And Skyfall is the best James Bond movie: fight me.)
Dogs. Specifically mine: the ill-behaved, spoiled, and much-beloved Lulu, Pepper, and Dottie. I’m a better person when I spend time with and caring for animals.
Touching grass and stuff. Most days I aim to take a daily weeding break just before lunch. Whether it’s 5, 10, or 15 minutes, when I’m done I’m grounded and calm and feel a whole lot better about life in general. Also, we have a mulberry tree in the backyard that is my de facto therapist. She listens to me. Sometimes I hug her and I swear she hugs me back. I understand why the Druids worshipped trees. There’s enormous wisdom and love and patience there.
(Privilege alert!) The (horribly, horribly named) “walking pad” I purchased recently. It’s essentially a compact treadmill with no handrail, and it’s made to fit under a desk. Every hour that I’m working, my smart watch reminds me to get up and move. So I put on some music and do 5-10 minutes of walking. (I’m low-key working up to walking 8 times a day.) The difference this movement has made in my mental and physical health, in only a couple of weeks, is impressive. And sure, I could go out and walk around the block or what have you, but the thing is, I DON’T. This item somehow magically makes moving easy, and I’m glad I’m lucky enough to have it.
Family and friends. Always. Every time. Forever. Obviously.
What keeps you going when life is moving fast? What keeps you going when life is moving in a direction you wouldn’t have picked? I’m genuinely curious. Hit reply and let me know?
Love,
Emma