Observations

I keep having this feeling that I have nothing else to say in these daily blog posts, no new ideas to share. Crazy, right? Even as I type it, I know it’s not true, but in the moments before I sit down to write in the mornings, that feeling pops up and I think, “Oh, okay, better quit while I’m ahead then.”

This is obviously Resistance, in a clever disguise. Resistance wants to keep us as far as possible from our life’s work and our creativity, and it will try almost any trick in the book in order to keep us small and “safe”. I think we all have our own unique brands of Resistance, and clearly one of mine is the insidious idea that I should just throw my hands in the air and announce that I simply don’t have any more ideas, so I’m just going to throw in the towel on this whole endeavour.

Steven Pressfield says that our job as artists is to just keep showing up, despite everything Resistance throws at us, and just keep making the work. Keep showing up, even if that little voice in your head yells that no one cares, or that the work is bad, or that YOU HAVE NO MORE IDEAS. You do whatever it takes for you to show up anyways. 

And so I think about Seth Godin, who has published a daily blog post for an entire decade. I think about Elise Cripe, who blogged on weekdays for almost as long. She has a planner business now, and one of her products says “You’re not going to run out of ideas.”

I am humbled by their commitment, which knocks some sense into me. It’s true: I’m NOT going to run out of ideas. Ideas are infinite, endless, eternal. It’s never true that I’m out of ideas, even when I feel tired or uninspired. There is always another rock to turn over, a new path to explore. So two questions today: what is your Resistance holding you back from today? And what do you need to know in order to do it anyway? 

Lately (along with the rest of the world) I’ve been thinking a lot more about reducing the waste I create. Even though I once hosted a podcast about eco-friendliness, saving the environment has never been at the top of my list in terms of causes I care about. To clarify: it’s always been on the list, just not at the very top.

But as the world starts to reckon with its environmental impact, I have started to reckon more seriously with my own. I’ve noticed that some of my habits are not aligned with my values, and that it would only take some small changes to get me to a (slightly) more sustainable way of living.

I have always been inspired by the blog Reading My Tea Leaves, and there are a couple of her posts that have really stuck out in my memory as I’ve been thinking more about this lately. The first is this post about her commitment to plastic-free iced coffee, a resolution that I’d also like to make this summer. Whether it’s by committing to just sit down and have my coffee/smoothie/drink in a cup “for here” rather than “to go” (which only takes a few minutes longer), or by bringing my own cup and straw, it feels like an easy but effective way to cut back on my plastic consumption.

On that note, I also loved this older post about having a zero-waste work bag. In hers, she carries a reusable straw, a cloth napkin, a water bottle/coffee mug, and a reusable grocery bag. So this week, I packed up the front part of my backpack with a stainless steel straw and cloth napkin, neatly folded into a Ziploc bag, and a canvas grocery tote. I have an old water bottle that I’ve been carrying with me a lot more lately, but I’m in the market for a smaller, insulated one that doesn’t sweat or conduct heat so that I can use it for both coffee and water. And I’d love to make something like this to protect my straw from the detritus that has a tendency to collect in my bags!

That’s all for now. Simple shifts that I want to really commit to. Eventually I’d love to start exploring the world of shopping for bulk items using my own containers, and cutting back on plastics in other areas of my life, but for now these shifts feel manageable and sustainable. Do you have any zero-waste habits? I’d love some inspiration! Until then, you can find me at my local coffee shop bringing my own straw.

Last night, my friend Laura and I spent some time catching up, as friends do. The difference was that this time, we were sitting on a blanket in the sand, right down by the lake, with sailboats and baby ducklings and adorable dogs nearby, for magic hour.

When we’d made plans, I suggested that we have a “collaborative picnic”: one of my favourite summer activities because nobody has to cook too much and we all get to be outside. Win-win! But even I was sort of surprised and delighted at how easily the whole thing came together, and how perfectly it worked out. Simple food, perfect lighting, ideal temperatures, water nearby – what could be better?

It reminded me again of this podcast episode I recorded last summer, where I had a similar realization: the beauty and joy of life are right there in front of me…all I have to do is reach out my hand and take them. In the shownotes last year, I wrote: “Joy, contentment, peace and happiness are actually really easy to attain – so what’s my excuse? I am fully capable of putting my resources towards things that make me happy rather than putting those activities off until another time.“

Routines are important and keep us grounded, but whimsy and magic don’t always fit into our everyday lives and schedules unless we intentionally put them there. This summer (and always), I want to reach my hand out and take those simple joys. All it takes is a bit of planning, a lot of intention, and an open mind.

I’ve lived in my current apartment for almost three years now. And for three years, I’ve struggled to make myself shop at the truly great, truly discount grocery store that’s about a 15 minute walk away – No Frills, for all you Canadians. Every time I shop there, I am literally flabbergasted at how much money I save. There’s no comparison! But does that stop me from being lazy and going to the Extremely Expensive Sobeys that’s a two minute walk from my house? No, it does not.

See the thing is that walking home from that particular No Frills is a schlep when you’re carrying a big haul of groceries (two huge bags and a backpack full), no matter the season or temperature. I often (embarrassingly) have to pause to readjust the bag straps or just take a tiny break on my way. Because it’s a trek and because I go so rarely, I always need tons of things when I finally go, which means it’s an even more intense walk home. Which means I don’t go again for a while – see the vicious cycle?!

I can hear you now with the (very good) solutions! Get one of those trolley cart things, or take a cab home, or go shopping for fewer things, more often. I hear you, and I also stubbornly disliked all of those solutions (but ESPECIALLY the taxi one, blame my frugality). For better or for worse, I like solutions that are easy, obvious, and don’t require buying anything new.

Yesterday morning as I was brushing my teeth, I had a realization that was so obvious, I laughed out loud. It was like I had never once put two and two together – it almost felt like it hadn’t even been true before that moment! Ready for it? There is another No Frills on the streetcar line that I take all the time, that drops me off less than a block from my house. 

I’d never shopped there, because according to Google Maps, the walk is a whopping 6 minutes longer. When I moved in, I’d determined which was the “closest” location and stopped thinking about it, not even pausing to consider other transit options and never once reconsidering my decision!

All of this is to say: there might be an easy, obvious, cheap solution to whatever nuisance or annoyance or hassle that’s currently staring you in the face. In fact, I’m sure of it! Because of the shortcuts our brains take to save us time and mental energy, we purposely exclude options and ideas that don’t fit how we’ve already decided to do things. But with intention, we can revisit our decisions and overcome or change our heuristics. That’s what I’m trying to do, anyway! If you need me, I’ll be taking the streetcar home from No Frills.