I wear scarves year round. Thick, bulky sweater and cashmere scarves in winter and thin, lightly spun scarves in summer. I like the warmth in the winter and the coolness in the summer. Even in 100+-degree Corfu and Rome, I still wore my scarves. It’s a comfort thing (I’m prone to drafts as soon as I get in the shade) and it’s a style thing. I like the touch of a scarf.
Today the sun is still determined to peek out of those clouds; after going to bed early last night because I was ill, I wake up renewed this morning, don my comfy Helly Hanson sweater-coat, my bulky sweater scarf, and creep downstairs to write my journal while the world wakes up.
No reading makes me aware of these comforts. I’m more appreciative of a mug of hot chocolate, a faux fur blanket over my lap as I write, a comfortable leather couch you can just sink into, and a warm house that will barely need any heater help today at all.
My mind is resting, but wide awake. I focus better without all the reading this week. I wrote 1,000 words on a very important essay yesterday and stayed focused the entire time. I was just “on.”
My to be read pile grows with each passing day. But I am learning my rhythms. I am learning my particular bent, my proclivity to read rather than to write or to feel. It is interesting to me to watch this.
I don’t think I will stop reading, but I think I will contain reading. I have learned the power of depriving myself of my “emotional crutch” in order to accomplish what I keep putting off.
How about you? Do you think your reading spills into too many areas of your life? If not, how do you contain it?
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I absolutely do! I’ve been fascinated by this track you’re on, and it’s compelled me to observe my own patterns, reactions regarding reading. Thanks to you, I gave myself permission to not read this week, to save it up as a treat for after I move. I do miss my stories that I’m right in the middle of, but I’m doing OK. My awareness levels have kicked up several notches and I feel peaceful, centered, in spite of the madness around me. Love it.
Interesting! I never thought I would be able to do it, but it’s working well. So there is too much of a good thing sometimes. I may have to do a “reading deprivation week” once a month just to really learn how to control my reading impulses. Yeah for you! So excited about your new place. I’m coming up in March to see it! Just thrilled you’ll be mold-free and can get healthy!
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