#feministfriday episode 180 | Don't hesitate

February 23, 2018

Good morning,

Here’s a memory for you from my university days; someone had left a guide to a paper they were doing lying around in the library, that (as these things do) broke down week by week what they should read and what they should expect from the seminar every week. Anyway, there wasn’t a seminar in one week, but the way the lecturer chose to express this was WEEK SIX: Silent Contemplation of Mysteries. Silent contemplation of mysteries! So lovely. I use this phrase to myself very often.

Obviously, that was also a way of the lecturer saying “I won’t have anything for you this week”, and similarly, I don’t really have a big theme for you today, so here instead are some things that you might enjoy contemplating silently.

We start with a poem by Mary Oliver, that I have returned to again and again since reading it:

Don't Hesitate

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the

case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Here’s some more about Mary Oliver, if you loved that as much as I do:

Her main themes continue to be the intersection between the human and the natural world, as well as the limits of human consciousness and language in articulating such a meeting.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-oliver

Here’s something that you might contemplate more often you enjoy; embarrassing things that you have done. I have been doing this so much less since reading this lovely sentence from Nicole Cliffe. Have a lovely Friday free from angst about whatever it was that you did that time:

I remember every single embarrassing thing I have ever done, but if you asked me to recall embarrassing things I have witnessed, I would be hard-pressed to do so.

https://catapult.co/stories/nicole-knows-advice-for-moving-on-when-friends-drift-away

Finally, Sarah Chevallier has done some excellent contemplation on the topic; what if the men of literature were on Tinder? I implore you to click this link:

Name: Odysseus

Age: 38

Occupation: King of Ithaca who is 100% NOT having a midlife crisis

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/if-literatures-complicated-men-were-on-tinder

Have a great day! and stay warm, Britishers,

Alex xx.