The Slog
Updated: Oct 2, 2020
One week until October. The weather has cooled off and the pumpkin spice is in the stores. I enjoy the regular cadence of semester progress, but this one is decidedly different. On one hand, it seems like the semester has flown by. Maybe because every day is starting to feel the same. On the other hand, apparently there are 10 weeks left in the semester. Most semesters, people experience a dip in energy and people either get sick or lose motivation, so let's hope for the latter and not the former this time around.
We all find different ways of dealing with "The Slog." I usually attempt to work harder in order to ward off the gathering gloom. This can backfire, though, so I also have to find balance with rest and time with friends and family. But Covid makes that more difficult. One thing that always cheers me up and motivates me is listening to music. I chuckled this morning when my brother Cal texted me, "Having fun isn't hard / when you've got a library card." If you recognize this refrain, you are probably laughing too. I never watched Arthur much as a kid, but I did spend many hours of my youth listening to a cassette tape of songs from the show. Now if I can just manage to direct that energy towards preparing for my recital...!
I know I'm rambling, but it's a relief to reflect. These last months have been... hmm... well... someone should come up with a word to describe what everyone is feeling collectively. Disconcerted? Perturbed? Befuddled? Discombobulated? Thanks, thesaurus.
Anyways, I hope if you are reading this that you feel some sense of comfort or connection with another bamboozled humbug (lol). Take a breath and relax. The weather isn't affected by Covid. The leaves falling aren't affected by Covid. The pumpkin spice isn't affected by Covid. So carpe diem! Or as another writer put it, "Man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun." Find balance creatively, and do so from a place of gratitude.
Landscape in Arles near the Alyscamps - Paul Gaugin, 1888