march madness (oh i made a funny)
My life is weird and quite busy right now. I’ve been taking on freelance jobs the way one might stockpile food in preparation for the apocalypse. I played devil’s advocate recently, where I initiated a thought experiment with a friend: what if this recession/depression/economy crisis we’re in truly becomes cataclysmic? Like, what would you do?* This experiment resulted in just freaking us out. Thank you, Professor Haycox.
So things are busy. I work on my freelance projects, I work on my Etsy shop, I try to keep a variety of fears at bay by building up this wall of busywork. To boot, I have an event schedule over the next few weeks (travel, friends, family visits, work things, etc.) that is pushing the needle to the red.
Yet, with this jam-packed pseudo-life I still find plenty of time to feel lonely and restless and to neglect great swaths of my life that need attention.
AND, I manage to work into my schedule plenty of time to reflect on/obsess about
- the fragility of life
- the insane rush-rush-rush of time
- the lack of serenity with which I approach me and mine
Argh. I suspect the key to some relief here may be as simple as taking a break and getting off this computer and going out for a walk and breathing some air. So I’m going to do that right now — maybe I’ll find that lost hour that Daylight Saving took away.
*What would I do? I have a vague plan of Joad-ing it eastward to where my sister lives, so at least we could be together when we live in a box. Or, since I live in a fairly ag county, I’d forage for food in the fields and then sleep in a tent on the beach. After all, my parents spent the Depression here, I might as well spend mine here, too. There’s a Depression/depression joke that I just don’t want to make here.
PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARDS!!! HAVE A SIX MONTH EMERGENCY FUND!!!! PLAN SAVE SAVE PLAN!!!!
I live a fairly stess-free existance, but I have the terrible weight on my brain because of all the impending doom. You are right, though. The worst that could happen is we will be living in a tent on the beach. That is not so bad.
Hi Becky! The apocalypse is already here! Yay! I plan to Joad it to the woods somewhere, grow lots of chiba and trade it for copper wire, which I will then create a new infrastucture! Yay again.
Love ya and congrats on he etsy shop Stuff looks great. I plan on trading for some copper wire and then maybe we can work something out for one of those lovely scarves.
Glad to know the zeitgeist has a firm grip on all our ‘nads. I should add survival kits to our Etsy shop, adorably decorated with rick-rack and felt cutouts of squirrels. And update the oh-so-1930 barrel-with-suspenders outfit. Two hints: Gore-Tex and sequins!
I have decided that all my fear and worry has lead to nothing but drama and more fear and worry – so last month I made a commitment to completely let go of fear and follow the things that make me joyful. Now, this had mixed results. It brought some interesting new people into my life who brought up some of the old, nasty favorites – hello abandonment issues! AND all of a sudden a bunch of money started showing up into our bank account. Various jobs and projects came through…old clients started calling and Justin stumbled on a new business. I have to say that this wild windfall is related to the letting go of fear (lack of money being my biggest, number one fear)…I mean it was so instantaneous! And the old wounds? Well, that’s a gift too, in a strange way. Exploring these fresh, old feelings has brought new insight and healing to my life.
I am not advocating denial or Pollyannaism – but more proactive faith? As the old Muslim joke goes…trust in God but tie up your camel. Keep the faith, but do the actions needed to manifest your dreams. And when I use the word “faith,” I mean that in a secular way as well as a spiritual way. Take your pick…
Please ignore any kind of preachiness or “you should do this” vibe that this comment may unintentionally give off. Just wanted to share my accidental coping strategy for the chaos that is the world today.
I think you are awesome, by the way and you can always hitchhike your way up to Petaluma and live with us. We have animals we can eat and vegetables that grow right out of the ground!