simply the best
In praise of slow work and friendship
The editing for Unpsychology issue 10 - Edges - continues apace – well that is, a very human pace. Or in my case: a snail's pace. The members of our editorial team have each been tasked with walking alongside a group of pieces, to shepherd them each into shape; however I'm still organising my connections with authors and still going through their texts. Not quite ready. Bringing up the rear, yet again.
It's because I have been so busy lately, with a multitude of projects and commitments, touching a wide network and a plethora of interests. I have been spinning many plates this month. Well. Every month. It's been quite the year so far. And I'm wondering if I need to find a different approach.
Here's why I'm wondering. Last weekend I travelled down from Edinburgh to London, for a weekend's adventure. Among the fun things I spent my time doing (textile art exhibit at the Barbican; embroidery workshop at a beautiful Victorian pub; browsing at Foyles famous bookshop; watching an incredible one-man-show called Harry Clarke at the Ambassador Theatre) I managed to do something extra special: I met up with our very own Unpsychology sound editor
. For real. In person.We sat over a Sunday lunch beside a fireplace, sampling the fare and talking about many unpsychological things. It was the highlight of my trip. Because connections and friendships and sitting together having a chat is just quite simply The Best.
So in the midst of my ridiculously busy schedule, I am called right now to slow down. To accept the snail's pace without guilt or shame. To stare out the window in a spaced out gaze, to pull out my knitting needles or my embroidery hoop, to simply slow down and listen to my lungs breathing in and out, and my heart beating kathump kathump.
I was recently recommended the book How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. And I've long been a fan of Tom Hodgkinson's books How to be Idle and How to be Free. One finds similar messages in Slow Productivity by Cal Newport and In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore and Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee.
Yet I don't want to do nothing. There are so many delicious, interesting things to do in this life. So many ways to reach out and connect. So much adventure to be had.
I suppose it is a case of learning to balance the doing with the nothing. Spinning oneself dizzy with endless tasks soon loses its charm; while a diet of nothing-but-nothing leaves one mired in ennui. So I offer this as a contemplation of better ways, dear reader: to appreciate the slow, to enjoy the things, and to always, always find time to meet up with a friend.
Boy, does this resonate. The journey needs a little meandering now and then, something I’ve been thinking and talking about a lot about lately in my research work, my creative endeavours, and my own life. How might we find time for so much beauty and discovery? Making that time for rich human connection, even briefly, seems to fill a lot of that cup, doesn’t it? I need to make sure I’m doing a little more of that.
This resonates so much with me Julia, I too am consciously choosing to live more slowly after many years of doing all the things. Walking around The Meadows being one of my favourite things at the moment 😁