Weekly Syllabus | Gen Ed 101 | Week 3: Being Still
Practicing stillness and rest (by force, but...)
Welcome back to the Syllabus, a bi-weekly(ish) publication of things I’m reading, listening to, and exploring. Like show and tell, but for grown-ups.
For several months and more specifically, the past eight weeks I’ve been nursing an injury that has forced me to move extremely slowly. In an effort to not be completely sedentary, I take the occasional greenway stroll, where my walking partner described my pace as “a toddler first learning to walk.”
I have a procedure and healing process on the horizon, which places me in a liminal space of moving slowly, resting often, and dreaming about what I’ll be able to do when I’m more (physically) myself. The practice of being still has been one of the most challenging seasons. But much like my toddler pace, a matching “toddler learner’s mind” is bringing many delights into perspective and deepening my gratitude for the days my body is more able than she is now.
Listening to: Selected Shorts pairs famous short stories with renowned actors reading from the stage, a weekly treat I look forward to in my feed. In the What Are the Odds? episode, featuring the short story The Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer and read by Melora Hardin, a free little library exchange turns supernatural. A lovely listen.
Dreaming of: The Little Free Library short has me dreaming of a “Free Little” something for our yard. I’ve been dreaming of a “Free Little Flower Market”- flowers for neighbors from my picking garden for years, but I’m not sure how lustrous my garden will be this year during recovery.
Instead, I’ve found some inspiration online for a “Free Little Mug Exchange” or “Mug Library.” Seeing as every time Kimly Ceramics or Spookys Ceramics make something new, I can’t help but push our cabinets into overflow, it seems like a fun project. I’m idealizing walkers and neighbors picking up a new mug for their morning coffee on porches or on a stroll. To be determined!
Creating: Sewing and embroidery have been part of my creativity since a very young age, but I haven’t tried sashiko specifically. I bought a small kit from St. Louis Art Supply Co. to test it out.
I recently thrifted a white jumpsuit from Nuuly (the main area of shopping for me these days) with a small stain on the leg, and I may use this as an opportunity to turn the stain into a beautiful oops with some shashiko coverage.
I see that a local favorite, Hillfolk, has a sashiko workshop coming up if you want to try it too.
Also creating: My more-than-usual sitting time still has me full send on journaling (creative, junk, trash…whatever kind of journaling you want to call it). I can tell the daily practice is changing my brain and nervous system, and I hope to keep it up when I start moving a little better.
I finished my first journal (the thickness of a finished journal filled with clippings, art, and writing is SO satisfying!). I picked up one of these Brooks Original handmade journals on a recent trip and made my first entry today.
Enjoying: A very generous and thoughtful friend bought me a tulip subscription from a local flower farmer Be Sweet Farm. I previously thought of tulips as a bit overrated, but these ones—with their petals wide open, as if to say, “let it all in!”are changing my mind. Flowers always brighten my day.
Cooking: Honestly, my partner is doing most of the cooking these days, but I did manage to grind down a sweet potato (with a life-saving hash brown maker gifted from a friend) for our dupe of Joann’s Austin hash brown nachos.
We essentially “kitchen sink” our version, which means whatever fun toppings are about to go bad in the fridge go into the mix. I think this round had summer relish, tomatoes, jalapeños, Bitchin’ Sauce, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. These will be on repeat with our spring farmers market finds.
Lusting After: I am one of those people who, when I start a hobby, needs to prove to myself I’ll be in it for the long term before really investing. Case in point: several years back I enjoyed cycling and borrowed a bike from the gym—with faulty gears and a seat that periodically sank three inches while riding—for about a year before investing (read: my partner actually bought it for me) in my own grown-up bike.
I sometimes wish I were the kind of person who bought the fun things first, but I guess I just came out of the factory this way.
All of this to say, the aforementioned art journaling has me dreaming of an Instax Fujifilm Mini Evo camera—a digital camera that prints photos on the spot and from your phone. I’m also eyeing an Ivy Mini Printer, which seems similar without the picture taking function.
Anyone out there tried either? Have thoughts?
I’ll report back in a year when I’ve proven to myself I can stick with journaling and have earned the right (judged by myself) to have one.
What about you? What are you reading, watching, listening to, cooking, and making? I’m taking any and all suggestions for my post-procedure recovery weeks.
Bird by bird.
—meg