Every spring, I’m both excited and overwhelmed as the days warm and lengthen: all those boat and book and house projects vying for my time and energy! This year, I’m trying to embrace that overwhelm by splicing my passions together; a phrase I stumbled onto recently that claims to inspire the best fiction. (Of course that writer called it “braiding,” but I prefer the more nautical version.)
I believe that weaving some of what we enjoy into each day can build the best life as well. What better way to fill a spring day than with morning writing (when my creative brain is at its best), gardening and/or varnishing in the afternoon, and an hour or so of wingfoiling as my reward? And who else but me would find so much joy in that combination?
Maybe we are what we eat, but I’d also argue that we become what we do. This year, in this heady season of ever-earlier sunrises, ever-later sunsets, and warmth enough to work outside without too many layers, I’m trying to embrace the annual surplus of “chores.” The key is creating some sort of balance, not letting books or boats or anything else take over completely.
How about you? Are you finding spring overwhelming or joyous (or both)? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send me an email. I read every one, with thanks—even in this most busy and distracted season of the year.
P.S. I’d include the link to the original post that inspired this one, about braiding together passions as a fiction writer, but now I can’t find it… and I need to get on to my next spring “chore.”
Ah, Spring chores, a lot of sanding involved. But the reward of foiling in the afternoon does make it all worth it.
Yes for sure, there’s far more sanding than varnishing! (Thanks for doing so much of it.)