Letters for Creatives #35: Spending time offline to reset
Plus: Reading list
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Image: Camille Brodard on Unsplash
Do a reset every week
The best way to reset when you do not want to do anything is to enjoy the present moment. The world has evolved so much. We are always connected to the internet. It takes away the time to feel the summer breeze and enjoy our favourite comfort food. It is one step closer to getting unstuck. I would start having a few hours to enjoy the present moment and be mindful of everything offline.
It was such a beautiful week. The most nourishing part of the week was Japanese food and the time I spend reading. Reading what I need to learn to evolve and be a better version of myself.
Heather Havrilesky suggested setting goals that excite you, such as learning how to make coffee or a bouquet.
If you don’t break your habit of experiencing each day as a series of things to avoid or get through, the future will look just like the past: Your brain will still be torturing you the whole time. And if you’re an oversensitive, overwhelmed, overworked, overthinking overachiever in particular, you’re definitely going to need a more vivid and compelling way of understanding yourself, your day, and your future.
Wild
I have been thinking about rural living a lot as I feel tired of everything that is happening. I watched Wild when I was thinking about life and the purpose of living one. It is based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed. She hiked more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail as she experienced the loss of her mother and a breakup. As life throws us curveballs, we often freak out and do not know what to do with our life. The Pacific Crest Trail forced Strayed to focus on the present moment as it is a life or death situation.
There are other things that we can do to force us to stay in the present. You can challenge your physical and mental strengths with workouts or take it slow and enjoy every single moment of the day.
Reading list
Fiction
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag
Non-fiction
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
The Child in You by Stefanie Stahl
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Homo Irrealis: Essays by Andre Aciman (He wrote Call Me By Your Name)
Music discovery: Tender
I could not stop listening to their cover of Watermelon Sugar. It is very nice to listen to a different genre of music after being obsessed with ODESZA for a few years.
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Until next time,
Celeste