There was a moment the other morning when I felt completely and utterly content. I was sitting in my (cat-shredded) green gingham chair, Sheba was on the windowsill checking out the dog-walkers in the courtyard, and the apartment was filled with mid-morning sun and a light breeze. It was really pretty perfect.
Sheba and I have many mornings together like that, which is one of the things about my life that I truly love, but life (my life, at least) is often a mixed bag. There are ups and downs, times where I feel stretched to the limit and others when I feel underutilized, moments when I'm anxious, restless, curious, silly, when all I want is to be with my friends and when all I want is to be left alone. I'm...pretty sure this makes me human.
If you haven't heard of Tolstoy Therapy yet, stop reading now and go check it out. Lucy writes about handling life's many moments with books - poems, literature, essays, nonfiction - and the lessons we learn from them. I love the idea, and the site, and decided to make a list of my own. Here are some of the authors whose writing I find helpful/inspiring/comforting during:
Delicious (weekend) mornings:
Terry Pratchett
Jasper Fforde
Dodie Smith
The lonely hours:
JK Rowling
Diana Gabaldon
Jonas Jonasson
Muriel Barbery
Escaping on a lunch break/commute/evening of insomnia:
Joanne Harris
Steig Larsson
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Daniel Silva
The doldrums, or when you need a laugh:
P.G. Wodehouse
Dorothy L. Sayers
Agatha Christie
Sarah Addison Allen
Terrific resources:
Reading Lists from a UK organization called "Reading Well"
Bibliotherapy Recommendations from Tolstoy Therapy
Lit Therapy, where you can pick an emotion and find bookish recommendations.
What would your list look like? Have you heard of bibliotherapy?
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Currently Reading...
What I'm enjoying so far: I like that it's been broken down into sections - of life and of the home. It makes it easier to flip through and find what's of interest at any particular moment. The recipes and lists for shopping and a Zero Waste wardrobe are useful. I'm also really enjoying the personal anecdotes and her story of how she got to this point - and that it's not all about recycling.
What I hope to see more of: Resources and content that reflects the life of those who might not live in a mild climate like certain parts of California. Rain boots, snow shoes, umbrellas and mittens were not listed. Those who work in the business world, in certain types of professional settings or in corporate jobs might not be able to only buy clothing that is washable, for instance. I'm hoping that this book isn't only for those who work at home and live financially comfortable lives.
My overall thoughts on the book: I like the fact that Bea Johnson doesn't say that everyone should do this exactly her way, or become Zero Waste immediately. She doesn't catastrophize and the book is not preachy. It's definitely made me consider how much waste I produce in my own home - the amount of recycling I take out each week, how many plastic containers I have, what I'm buying from the store that has plastic or some kind of packaging, and what I can do to minimize that. While grinding up kohl to make my own eyeliner is not my style, and I'm way too much of a scaredy-cat to bring my own glass container to be filled at a meat/fish counter, I think it's cool that she put that information in there. It's made me think more about my own lifestyle.
**On a side note, this is also not a scientific book - there are very few statistics and studies shown. I don't think Bea Johnson is trying to prove whether or not global warming is real or whether or not certain types of plastic leach chemicals, for instance. If you're looking for that kind of a read, I'd say go elsewhere.
For more information on the book and the movement she's discussing, here are some neat resources:
Zero Waste Home
My Plastic-Free Life
My Zero Waste
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
life lessons from sheba
Hello fellow blog-readers. What's doin'? Happy, happy Tuesday-nearly-Wednesday. These past few months have been doozies (moving, living with family, moving again, unpacking, meeting new people). Having Sheba around again has slid certain things in place which earlier seemed totally hard, confusing, and not at all in place. Has anybody else had that experience before? Sheba is mostly a zen master when it comes to life and life changes, with the exception of evenings (when she gets a big burst of IT'SBEDTIMEEEEEELET'SDOTHIS) and...when her toys get stuck. Mornings are mostly napping time.
I've realized I have a lot to learn from the fluffster, namely:
- Most days, what you need in order to feel better is 1) a nap and 2) some perspective. Ohhh how often I wish I would take this advice. Is there really more that needs to be said?
- Play more. Since Sheba's been back, there have been moments when I'm either working, or cooking, or cleaning, or just-getting-back-to-that-one-last-person, when I hear a plaintive mew and feel a kitten body rub against my leg (or, ok, kitten claws that need to be trimmed piercing my skin). When I look down, I almost always see this little pink ball that she wants me to throw around with her. It only takes a few minutes, but watching her race after that little ball, or (my personal favorite) watching her little butt wiggle as she concentrates before pouncing, brightens my mood.
- Sometimes a vacuum is just a vacuum. There are a lot of disturbing and dangerous things in this world (toxic people included), and they make a lot of noise and take up a lot of space. In my experience, there are days when it can be very hard to keep that noise out of your face. It takes a lot of effort every day (day after day) to keep focused on the things that are important. Sometimes, (most times), there isn't a lot of substance behind all that noise. It's just a vacuum. A vacuum makes a lot of noise - but it won't kill you. And probably won't suck your tail into its vortex...at least not forever.