Lovely contemplative read Jac. I'm always impressed with people who can carve out a life outside of the socials. I think I would be proud of myself if I took it out for a few days a week! Although I must say, diversifying the way I interact online has been so life-giving. I now rarely go to IG. I mostly spend time on discord, substack, marco polo and email. Yes, it's still a lot of digital interaction and I would really love to shift that. But for now, it's still a lifeline and as a mom, I need to take that into account. Peace and love as you journey into the fire. I absolutely love that tradition. I have heard that if you don't have the provisions to burn a log, one can burn an oil lamp that never burns out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC7dpQW7P8w
The way Substack is going, it's becoming more and more like social media, so I think even if I do move away from Instagram, that social competitiveness will still be here. Digital life is part of contemporary life now and we have to figure out ways to navigate it without burning out or continually feeling like we're not doing enough/are not good enough. Maybe for me that means stepping out for long stretches of time and resetting.
Traditionally ancient Briton families burned a large branch or small tree as the Yule log and just kept cutting slices off to keep the fire burning. As farmers they would have had endless wood resources. We're fortunate we have a lot of prunings from the summer from the same tree. I don't think it really matters, it's just symbolic, but a fire has a way of drawing people to it and huddling around it in conversation, which I love. Deep peace to you too x
Lovely contemplative read Jac. I'm always impressed with people who can carve out a life outside of the socials. I think I would be proud of myself if I took it out for a few days a week! Although I must say, diversifying the way I interact online has been so life-giving. I now rarely go to IG. I mostly spend time on discord, substack, marco polo and email. Yes, it's still a lot of digital interaction and I would really love to shift that. But for now, it's still a lifeline and as a mom, I need to take that into account. Peace and love as you journey into the fire. I absolutely love that tradition. I have heard that if you don't have the provisions to burn a log, one can burn an oil lamp that never burns out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC7dpQW7P8w
The way Substack is going, it's becoming more and more like social media, so I think even if I do move away from Instagram, that social competitiveness will still be here. Digital life is part of contemporary life now and we have to figure out ways to navigate it without burning out or continually feeling like we're not doing enough/are not good enough. Maybe for me that means stepping out for long stretches of time and resetting.
Traditionally ancient Briton families burned a large branch or small tree as the Yule log and just kept cutting slices off to keep the fire burning. As farmers they would have had endless wood resources. We're fortunate we have a lot of prunings from the summer from the same tree. I don't think it really matters, it's just symbolic, but a fire has a way of drawing people to it and huddling around it in conversation, which I love. Deep peace to you too x
Really interesting read and I never knew about the Yule log. I thought they were pretty cakes 😂 Love the way you write and have signed up.
Thanks Mary, great to have you join the community!