"It’s as if I don’t know what to do with myself when given some days without direction or a to do list, yet this is exactly what my mind and body crave when I am working."
I resonated with this bit so much, Angie! That's what we do, we swing between these two states, between busyness and idleness, needing both but not wanting either for too long. I'm not sure you didn't know what to do with yourself, though. You have this entire essay describing all the things you did, how present and with your senses open you navigated the beautiful NW Mallorca.
And that mention about missing the bond with your partner, it's so humane, so beautiful -- something which we should all pursue more, for sure. We've become too independent-minded, too unattached lately, as if other humans would rather hinder us than empower us to live our best lives, together.
This piece really resonated with me today. I have been voraciously reading your backlog and loving your writing. But this one really felt comforting to read: I also have a deep bond with my partner and am planning a trip without him with a friend which I know will be lovely and fun! But I feel a saddened a bit he won’t be coming along. And I have been wrestling with that feeling a bit and wondering if it was a sign of too much dependency or something bad. But the beautiful way you framed your feelings made it so clear to me that it is a lovely thing to be so deeply bonded with one’s partner where you want to experience things together. And that going on a trip with friends without them is fun and special too but most importantly that there is a place for both feelings and neither is wrong. Thank you for making me feel at ease to hold space for these thoughts ❤️
What if you hadn't written this? How might this delicious event have been different for you both in the experiencing of it and in its digestion afterwards? In my own case I abandoned the arts in which I had been totally immersed at an early age, convinced that I was missing something essential that I then considered to be a life lived as opposed to life as means to other ends, in a sense performative vs. experiential. That's a question, not a judgement or a position.
I love this question. I definitely wasn’t thinking of writing about it in the moment, to be honest, or at least when I approached the swim or the hike. However, I think as writers we train ourselves to pay attention. It begins to happen as a reflex. Before we are writers, we are observers. It’s a requirement of being able to write, first we must remember and recount, or reconstruct, events, places, and feelings. For me, writing has enhanced my experiences. It makes me look for details, feel things deeply, and attach words and descriptions to those feelings that often help me untangle exactly what it is I am feeling. I also wrote a piece a while ago about the performative nature of producing “content,” however, and I think it’s an important thing to be aware of. The act of doing something just to post about it can cheapen the experience and the post itself, if we are not honest and authentic about it.
Sounds like just the uplifting yet relaxing tonic you needed.
From this and other posts, I can tell you are a very sensual person who deeply absorbs her surroundings.
Wonderful post!
"It’s as if I don’t know what to do with myself when given some days without direction or a to do list, yet this is exactly what my mind and body crave when I am working."
I resonated with this bit so much, Angie! That's what we do, we swing between these two states, between busyness and idleness, needing both but not wanting either for too long. I'm not sure you didn't know what to do with yourself, though. You have this entire essay describing all the things you did, how present and with your senses open you navigated the beautiful NW Mallorca.
And that mention about missing the bond with your partner, it's so humane, so beautiful -- something which we should all pursue more, for sure. We've become too independent-minded, too unattached lately, as if other humans would rather hinder us than empower us to live our best lives, together.
This piece really resonated with me today. I have been voraciously reading your backlog and loving your writing. But this one really felt comforting to read: I also have a deep bond with my partner and am planning a trip without him with a friend which I know will be lovely and fun! But I feel a saddened a bit he won’t be coming along. And I have been wrestling with that feeling a bit and wondering if it was a sign of too much dependency or something bad. But the beautiful way you framed your feelings made it so clear to me that it is a lovely thing to be so deeply bonded with one’s partner where you want to experience things together. And that going on a trip with friends without them is fun and special too but most importantly that there is a place for both feelings and neither is wrong. Thank you for making me feel at ease to hold space for these thoughts ❤️
What if you hadn't written this? How might this delicious event have been different for you both in the experiencing of it and in its digestion afterwards? In my own case I abandoned the arts in which I had been totally immersed at an early age, convinced that I was missing something essential that I then considered to be a life lived as opposed to life as means to other ends, in a sense performative vs. experiential. That's a question, not a judgement or a position.
I love this question. I definitely wasn’t thinking of writing about it in the moment, to be honest, or at least when I approached the swim or the hike. However, I think as writers we train ourselves to pay attention. It begins to happen as a reflex. Before we are writers, we are observers. It’s a requirement of being able to write, first we must remember and recount, or reconstruct, events, places, and feelings. For me, writing has enhanced my experiences. It makes me look for details, feel things deeply, and attach words and descriptions to those feelings that often help me untangle exactly what it is I am feeling. I also wrote a piece a while ago about the performative nature of producing “content,” however, and I think it’s an important thing to be aware of. The act of doing something just to post about it can cheapen the experience and the post itself, if we are not honest and authentic about it.