“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” – Walter Hagen
Today I write to you near a frost encrusted window. The snow is still falling, flakes large enough that you don’t need a microscope or even your camera’s zoom to see the intricate designs of a single flake. Delicate elemental fractals that create silence instead of sound. It’s a beautiful day and my third filled with snow and ice. December came in with a gentle whisper and it said, ‘quiet you mind, walk gently on the land.’. A much needed reminder after the November we have all had.
The snowfall is waining now, more horizontal than vertical in its driftings. I miss it even while it’s still falling. It’s December 2nd today and I know I’m writing to you all a bit early but I expect this month to be quite busy. For a season dedicated to restfullness, to slowing down, capitalism has created a culture that demands it’s exact opposite. I will fend it off as best I can. But there are bound to be sacrifices.
For the most part, this month will be dedicated to writing and reading. To committing Latin grammar slowly to memory through the use of my homemade Lukasa board and to quiet contemplation. This is a liminal period. I’d rather exist than push through tasks. I’d rather just be. I want to reclaim my time from task lists and cultural demands. I want to sit my window and drink hot tea. I want to stomp through snow. Maybe build a snowman or two.
We call people who reclaim themselves. Who reclaim their time ‘lazy’. I think that word is a capitalist illusion. An invention to make us feel bad for not contributing to capitalism 24/7. It is derogatory. You are not ‘lazy’. When your mind is free to wander it is free to create new connections. It is free to imagine worlds outside of capitalism. It is free to create. It free to recreate and reshape the self. Rest is resistance. Reclaiming the self is resistance and it is deeply healing.
I have a challenge for you this month. Say ‘no’ to a demand, a cultural expectation, a task. Then go do something you want to do instead. Take a road trip. Sit outside by a fire. Do the exact opposite of what that capitalist voice in your head says you should be doing and instead listen to your body, your emotional state etc. What is it that you are needing. Take that time and reclaim it.
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