A fresh perspective
slow life/meaningful life, Fiji trip, gathering attention, walking inspiration, new roof
If you’ve been following Fluid Thinking for a while, you know I consciously strive to live a slower life. I’m continually finding ways to balance my work and family and health that are sustainable for the long term. It is very satisfying.
And lately, I feel so slow I’ve almost stalled. I’m not sure where I’m headed. I don’t have any big goals or a career plan or a neat vision of the future. And I’m trying to be ok with that. I think there is great potential in not knowing, in just being with what is. Especially when it’s uncomfortable or different from your habitual ways of doing things.
We had a trip to Fiji at the end of August… my heart is still singing the island songs and floating in the crystal waters. And it’s given me a fresh perspective on what it means to live a meaningful life.
Yasawa Islands, Fiji 2023
My favourite part was meeting the Fijian people. They welcomed us to their country so generously and shared stories about their home and their lives so openly. It really moved me and left me thinking about what it means to create meaning for yourself and support the life of the community.
What is it like to be a member of a small village vs a citizen of a big city? What privileges and responsibilities do we have either way? How do we use and maintain shared public spaces? How do we care for our children and elders? What is considered ‘work’ and how is it valued? How can we spend more time creating and less time consuming?
I loved reading Samantha Clark’s words from Orkney this week, about gathering the flow of attention with meaningful habits and creative work; The Life Boat.
For me, deleting social media has been the biggest step in gathering my attention and feeling free to create my life day-by-day. To be available to participate in embodied community spaces, not just virtual ones.
I want the people I love to feel curious, imaginative and self directed. To choose where their consciousness and attention flows. So I won’t be making or sharing any content that keeps you scrolling on apps for longer.
I’m directing my energy into connections that take more time, are open ended and reciprocal - phone calls, walks, local catch ups, and these letters, where I collect my thinking across the length of a month and hopefully stir some slower ideas in you too.
It is almost spring equinox here in Melbourne (23 Sep) and I am definitely feeling a rise in energy and motivation. My inspiration this month is all about walking:
Great Australian Walks show on SBS
Walk for Yes this Sunday 17 Sep
Wanderlust: A History of Walking book
“I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that the mind, like the feet, works at about three miles an hour. If this is so, then modern life is moving faster than the speed of thought or thoughtfulness.”
― Rebecca Solnit
Please take care when entering and exiting the studio if you visit me in the next month. We are having a new roof installed on the back verandah.
Love always,
Emily
