A Welcome Back Yak
From: Kanin
To: Sunny
Hi there Sunny!
Welp, we kind of took an inadvertent (?) Preachy break there, huh? I dunno about you — except I kinda do cause we just had a chat about it — but I think I kinda needed it. Like…stuff got busy! My kid turned one! There was a whole set of holidays. I got a new job!
But, also, rest is good. And I feel like taking time, particularly for journos, is in the ether these days. So maybe we kinda needed it? What do you think?
So stoked to be back at this,
mk
From: Sunny
To: Kanin
Howdy Mike!
I’m super grateful that we took a break — for your sake and mine! After doing Preachy nonstop for over a year, I think we were due for some rest. Congrats on the new job, and congrats on the great baby! (I miss seeing Tobias…)
I think we can both get caught up in the productivity trap. I know I definitely feel guilty when I don’t have a project to work on, and those feelings of guilt get maxed out when I actually do give myself a break. (December was an interesting month, to say the least.) It’s something I’ve been trying to work on for a little while, reconciling those feelings. Meditation has helped, as has taking bike rides around the city without my phone.
What do you think about all this? Do you have any remedies or recommendations?
Excited to get Preachy going again in 2022!
Warmly,
sunny
From: Kanin
To: Sunny
Awww…Tobias misses seeing you too! I know I can’t really speak for him, but I kind of have a feeling? He likes good energy!
(Right now he’s eating lunch and getting caught up in the pinwheel next door. He makes a spinning motion with his hand and insists that his guests watch the action. Also, he listened to Daft Punk for the first time. This may have informed one track on our coming Friday playlist 🙂 )
I so TOTALLY hear that about the productivity trap. Like, if I’m not cranking stuff out, I feel kinda … like I’m missing something? Fighting that internal myth has been a big thing for me as I try to adapt to life with a kid. But I think that’s a really good practice to get into.
Maybe that practice itself is the best advice I have? (I must admit, however, that I feel a bit silly giving it; I’m terrible at it.) I’ll say I totally hear you on the medicine thing too. I got on-board that train in September or October and it’s really made a difference. Like I can almost kind of let go of stuff now?
I myself am about to try more biking, too. I’m very excited about this.
What else do you do? Do you think that you’re getting closer to finding the right balance(s)?
From: Sunny
To: Kanin
Did he like Daft Punk??
I also totally hear you on working on that internal myth. The inner work is just as important as the physical practice! And I like using the word practice here — although it may feel silly to hand out advice you struggle to work on, maybe the fact that you’re working on it makes it in some way more legitimate. Like, you know the struggle, you know?
Let me know how biking goes! It’s one of my favorite ways to see a city. And I love that David Byrne agrees.
I do feel like I’m getting closer to finding the right balance right now, though I do think it’s a constant sort of back-and-forth between having a good balance and sliding back. But as Pema Chödrön says: “The attitude is one step at a time—four baby steps forward, two baby steps back. You can just allow it to be like that. Trust that you have to go at your own speed.” (Technically she’s talking about something else here, but I’ve found this quote applicable to many different parts of my life.”
I find that movement in general really helps. There’s nothing like a long walk to give yourself room to breathe and contemplate whatever needs contemplating. One thing I’ve been really missing from Austin is my meditation group — specifically, one of our practices. We would do a walking meditation together. Since I’ve been in Philly, I’ve been trying to incorporate that practice into my solo walks. In addition, I love Pauline Oliveros’s sonic meditations. She writes about practicing these in groups, but I’ve found them to be helpful even on my own.
Finally, I think the best practice I can think of involves getting out of the hustle and bustle for a while. Going hiking, renting a cabin in the woods, just leaving the phone and the bullshit behind for a while. I often think about this in terms of getting somewhere you can listen to bugs.
Thanks for this conversation! Reflecting on my own practices has been a lovely process. 🙂