Weeknotes 20: the end for now

10 August 2019

1. 20 seems like a good number to go out on? I’ve decided to finish this weeknotes experiment for now.

   While having the structure of writing (almost) every week has been a good way to regularly pause and reflect, it’s also very time consuming and easily ends up feeling like a bit of a chore.

   At the start I had the notion that I’d fall into a rhythm and smash out each post in a furious 30 minutes of inspiration, ideas flowing through my fingertips. But the reality is that it often takes quite a bit longer.

   I’ve also been feeling that the weeknotes suck out all of my enthusiasm for writing, so I never get around to any longer, more focused pieces. Maybe I’ll get to some of them now, we’ll see!

2. There’s an experiment happening in the Enspiral network called pods, which is basically where a group of people get together (in our case virtually) to support each other in some way on a regular basis.

   This week I joined the first meeting of a “vocational change” pod, and the common thread was that we’re all exploring ideas about what we wish to manifest in our working lives. It was lovely to hear the stories of my fellow peas (peas go in pods, right?) and I’m looking forward to seeing where this leads.

3. I’m nearly at the end of reading My Year Without Matches by Claire Dunn, which I’ve enjoyed immensely. It’s a beautifully written autobiographical tale of a year spent living in the bush, learning how to live off the land, and grappling with inner struggles along the way.

   The first time I saw Kate kneel down and effortlessly produce a glowing red coal using a hand-drill, the same technique that would have been used on this land for tens of thousands of years, it felt like I was witnessing a birth – it was that intimate, that profound. The sheer simplicity of picking up one stick and spinning it on another to produce fire was the most improbable and stunning act of human creation I could imagine.

4. I’ll leave you with a lovely quote which I found in the book!

   Don’t ask what the world needs.
   Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
   Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

   Harold Thurman