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“Winter—the season of heroes and gods.” —Henry Rollins
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Every year, my “SAD” gets worse. I feel like once you hit your 30s or 40s, you start to realize why people retire to the Sun Belt. It was easier in Northern New Mexico—bitter cold but not dreary. Sunshine nearly every day, snowstorms that passed through and melted by afternoon, dripping from high sun roofs. For reasons I won’t get into here, my transition to winter back East has been rough. This year, I need a plan—for the love of all things holy and for my dopamine and my serotonin, what little I have. I need to hack this. January, February, March. It’s only three months, right? For those of you who get SAD (best acronym ever), good luck out there.
THE PLAN
“The Artist’s Way” — Start the first week of January. It’s a 12-week “course” with a lengthy intro, so that will take me all the way to April! I’m hoping to go through it with at least one other person (accountability buddies are always appreciated), (check out her Substack). If you want to join me / us for weekly check ins, please let us know, and let’s do it.
Writers Circle — Continue meeting monthly with writers in Frederick, to—again—have accountability, stay on track, focus on larger projects, and also receive feedback. It is good to find your people and support one another.
The weather is “moody” — I decided I’m gonna start saying “moody” instead of gloomy, dreary, and depressing. Keep those spirits up!
Winter Watchlist — Last year, it was “The X Files.” This year, it will be “Twin Peaks”: the original, the new season that made no sense and I couldn’t get through in 2017, and the movie … probably all of David Lynch’s movies, tbh. Also a few other picks, like “The Matrix” series and “Blade Runner.”
Sojourn to the West … or the South … or anywhere warmer or sunnier — TBD, but every winter I say I’m gonna take a trip to temporarily escape the gloom … and then I never do. Maybe this year will be different. Maybe this year won’t be gloomy!
Winter Project — Also TBD, but probably my next book.
Steps! — Keep walking, keep moving, every day … even if it’s inside a mall, I don’t care. I’ll be a “mall walker” if it means more serotonin and dopamine.
Reading List — Still in development. Maybe I’ll finally read “The Snow Leopard.” Maybe I’ll finally finish “Anna Karenina.”
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books, essays, poems, articles
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a mix of old and new, for loungey winter nights with charcuterie boards or popcorn
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songs, records, playlists, field recordings
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4jDQ2iI7BCzWFDX2qmqyDB?si=eb395ea17ebf4423
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conversations and sound bites around a theme
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artists, artworks, photography, exhibitions, fashion, color palettes, textures, moodboards, interiors, visual references, material culture, fashion
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those doing work around a particular area of focus
plants, weather, landscapes, natural history, specific places, field observations
recipes, seasonal foods, drinks, kitchen things
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photographs, quotations, links, observations, found things, curiosities
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journal prompts, questions, quotations, observations, passages to sit with
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