Slow Down
Slow Down
I missed last week because I was trying to do too many things at once. Which is a bit ironic because I intended to write about the need to slow down. I am quite good at taking my own advice, as you can tell.
We are currently living through a time that could easily come to be known as The Great Pause or The Great Reset. The majority of people are now working remotely or not working at all, in many cases due to decisions outside of their own choosing. There has been a flood of content about how to stay productive during this time and “crush Covid” (I have to believe that has been used in at least one clickbait-y headline). But that may be the wrong path to take through these uncertain times.
Instead, perhaps we should reset and reevaluate. Reexamine our routines and regularities. I love what Nick Cave wrote in a recent issue of his Red Hand Files email:
Together we have stepped into history and are now living inside an event unprecedented in our lifetime. Every day the news provides us with dizzying information that a few weeks before would have been unthinkable. What deranged and divided us a month ago seems, at best, an embarrassment from an idle and privileged time. We have become eyewitnesses to a catastrophe that we are seeing unfold from the inside out. We are forced to isolate — to be vigilant, to be quiet, to watch and contemplate the possible implosion of our civilisation in real time. When we eventually step clear of this moment we will have discovered things about our leaders, our societal systems, our friends, our enemies and most of all, ourselves. We will know something of our resilience, our capacity for forgiveness, and our mutual vulnerability. Perhaps, it is a time to pay attention, to be mindful, to be observant.
As an artist, it feels inapt to miss this extraordinary moment. Suddenly, the acts of writing a novel, or a screenplay or a series of songs seem like indulgences from a bygone era. For me, this is not a time to be buried in the business of creating. It is a time to take a backseat and use this opportunity to reflect on exactly what our function is — what we, as artists, are for.
Saskia, there are other forms of engagement, open to us all. An email to a distant friend, a phone call to a parent or sibling, a kind word to a neighbour, a prayer for those working on the front lines. These simple gestures can bind the world together — throwing threads of love here and there, ultimately connecting us all — so that when we do emerge from this moment we are unified by compassion, humility and a greater dignity. Perhaps, we will also see the world through different eyes, with an awakened reverence for the wondrous thing that it is. This could, indeed, be the truest creative work of all.
Rich Hincapie wrote a great email about how Hincapie Sportswear is handling the Time of Covid and at the end shared this excellent video:
Take some time to step back, slow down, and breathe.
Preach Warning
Meat processing facilities are basically amusement parks for the virus. This may be a good time to experiment with a plant focused diet. Think about it.
What Has Me Curious Right Now
What is the right path forward?
The only thing we know for sure is that no one truly knows what the right decision is right now.
Medical interventions change by the week as more is learned about this virus and its impacts. For instance, it appears that this virus has similar impacts on the body to altitude sickness, which ventilators exacerbate, so they are now used only as a last resort.
Societally, what is the best path forward? Did some places lock down too early and burn through the social capital to follow those orders? What comes next? When does some semblance of normalcy, or the new normal, resume?
What I’m Making This Week
- Eye of the Goat beans with Wild Rice
- Maybe some “Chorizo” Tacos
- Sauerkraut (I forgot to put the white beans and sauerkraut in the fridge after making them last time so I will be making them again, and not wasting all of it)
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Yet Another Sourdough Loaf (I can’t stop, won’t stop)
What I Made Last Week
- Beer-Glazed Black Beans (these were easy and delicious, highly recommend)
Spiritual Sound System
