#13: Stop and smell the roses đč
This week, I wasn't organized enough to write an April Fool's letter. But we're still talking about road trip essentials, appreciating airports, and recommending a backlist book.
Time is a social construct. This means that time isnât a natural resource like water or diamonds. Humans didnât discover time; we created it.
Time is one of the ways we understand the world, but it is not part of the world. The earth turned before we mapped the stars, charted the phases of the moon, and cracked enough rocks to make a sundial.
Time is a uniquely human idea, and I sometimes wonder if itâs done us more harm than good.
I got to thinking about time the other day after a 45-minute conversation with my grandma. I thought about how lucky I am to be twenty-three and have grandparents period, let alone grandparents who I regularly talk to. Many people never meet their grandparents or even their parents.
I even got to know my great-grandma; she passed the day before I turned sixteen. I had fifteen years and 364 days of knowing and loving her.
One day in a couple hundred million years, the sun will swallow the earth and, if humanity hasnât eradicated itself yet, there will be no more humans. Endstop.
(Stick with me here. I promise this isnât morbid.)
But I canât control whatâs happening in the cosmos. What I can do is call my grandma and ask her what she remembers about getting married in 1963. (She and my grandpa are still together 59 years later, in case youâre curious.)
I can ask my dad how heâs able to fry the perfect over-easy egg.
I can let my aunt French braid my hair not because I donât know how to do it, but because the five minutes she spends weaving my hair around itself is time we get to learn more about each other.
Time is a social construct, but it also gives us an appreciation for the now. There is so much sweetness in the present if we decide to look for it.
DOâS and DONâTS:
DO: Make something from scratch this weekend.
DONâT: Walk by a dish in your room without taking it downstairs.
DO: Write someone you love a postcard.
DONâT: Cling to your Instagram aesthetic.
DO: Toss a pint of your favorite ice cream in the cart next time youâre at the store.
DONâT: Settle for feeling meh. You deserve to feel f***ing fantastic.
âRequiredâ reading:
25 road trip essentials to pack for a long drive (CN Traveler)
These tips for how to publish a book were so inspiring (The EveryGirl)
How to set up a bar cart like a pro (The Stripe)
I loved this feature on Italyâs unexpected culture center (Prior)
20 life-changing books that will stick with you (Marie Claire)
This weekâs aesthetic: airport
The heroine recommends: Room by Emma Donoghue
Iâm several years late to this book but YâALL. I absolutely devoured every word. As a true crime fan, I loved seeing this take on âsurvival storiesâ and what the public eye canât quite see. Also a tearjerker if youâre a mom or have a good relationship with your mom; make sure youâve got some tissues handy.
Shop on Bookshop* or listen on Libro.fm.*
Click here to submit a recommendation!
*NEW* Promo corner: some shameless self-promotion
On the podcast: Rachel Cifarelli and I talk about sustainability, going vegan, and eco-optimism
On the Insta: hereâs which Hello Heroine episode you should listen to based on your favorite emoji
A parting thought:
You are never too much and always enough.
xx, Annie