Blog: pleasure, books, & asking for help
things I hope to do more of this year ✨
Today is more of a personal blog. Such blogs will live in the Belonging section of the Soil is Sexy substack.
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This time last year I wrote to my friend, Cass Marketos of The Rot in response to a beautiful reflection she wrote about how she got into composting and how it’s impacted her life.
At the time, effort was at the forefront of my life as it was taking a lot of it to bring about my new business, Rhizos. For most of my adult life I feel like I’ve been striving and I’ve noticed that striving can swiftly spiral into anxiety - What will Rhizos become? What will become of me? How can I ensure we’re “successful”?
But as I wrote to Cass I told her, I don’t want to worry about what Rhizos will become, I want to enjoy what Rhizos is today - an idea with some legs. I don’t want to worry about who I will become, I want to enjoy who I am right now - my current interests, community, health, abilities, surroundings, and resources.
I posted these reminders around my office where they stayed for most of 2023, hoping they’d give me pause when I felt striving taking the wheel of my life.
These reminders have served me, at least on occasion, by drawing my attention to moments (or y’know, weeks and months) of striving and they’ve invited me to consider another way of being - these are the moments that have informed my intentions for this year, 2024.
My intentions for 2024 focus on sensory experiences and perspective shifts:
🥩Create more intimacy & consistency in my relationship with food - I’ve come a long way in the quality of food I purchase and now I want to feel the satisfaction of that more. There is so much dignity (and privilege) in being able to prioritize food in my life. I aim to not ruin the gift of that by having an all or nothing mentality; even one responsibly-sourced or garden fresh ingredient in a single meal is worth appreciating. Even one meal a day that is prepared with a conscious and present mind is a success.
My hope is that I enjoy preparing meals (and all the coordination that requires) for myself and others this year.
📚Read indulgently: my relationship with reading is evolving and I want to lean into that this year by reaching for books, substacks, and analog newspapers (which I’ll surely compost) to satisfy different urges - ranging from information to escapism - that would normally move me towards social media, youtube, or tv (not that any of these things are inherently “bad”).
My intention is to see how reading feels in comparison to scrolling or otherwise passively intaking content.
😌Experience more pleasure: I want to experience more joy in the things I’m already doing. There is much suffering in the world and occasionally in my life, and simultaneously there is so much goodness day to day, season to season; I want to feel the satisfaction of my actions and experiences instead of just flying onto the next thing or only focusing on the suffering.
My hope is that I embody the satisfaction of the things I get to do on a regular basis.
🏡Maintain our home in a way that facilitates our values & lifestyle: having the ability to make our home functional and pleasing to us is a gift, and it can be especially satisfying when we overcome challenges like building something or getting creative with materials we already have or are able to reclaim. Sometimes we allow our own limitations to stump us, but what’s more fun than overcoming challenges on our own is when we ask others for help - allowing friends and family to teach us new skills and partake in the joy of creating something.
I hope we (my partner and I) have the courage and gusto to start and complete projects that help us be more organized and more integrated with our outdoor environment.
I hope we ask our people for help from a place of joyful invitation (and let go of any needless sense of such a request being a burden, after all we always enjoy the opportunity to lend a hand).
💪Build strength - I want to feel physically stronger.
My goal is to lift and move heavy things without worrying I’m going to hurt myself :)
🤗Continue the good habits - I want to continue my sit spot practice, morning mobility / movement, writing, and indulging in rest and snuggles with my husband and dog - naps are encouraged.
What are some sensory experiences or perspective shifts you’d like to have this year?
With Love,
Andie
I love your list! I’m also doing a few of these items, too. Hope you have a strong and well-read year!