rabbit, rabbit | october
whispering up the chimney on the first day of the month.
The phrase “rabbit rabbit” originated no-one-knows-where and no-one-knows-when, but as the English lore goes, some children somewhere used to say “rabbit rabbit” up the chimney on the first day of every month in hopes of receiving a present. This is so delightful and silly and it’s been caught in my imagination for years.
So I’m experimenting with a new format today – on the first day of the month, a tiny gift for you! The best things I’ve read, listened to, learned over the last month.
📚 what I read.
Lucia Bennett wrote this beautiful, thoughtful piece about how humans, like trees, can grow towards what nourishes us. “What’s your sun? What are you going to grow your dear, tree-brain branches toward?”
Election stress is affecting basically all of us, even if we don’t realize it. I loved Kirsten Powers’ piece on how to keep it together before and after the big day.
As a person who sometimes feels like she just “doesn’t know what to do with” little ones, I loved, loved, loved this piece by Lisa Sibbett on befriending kids. “Befriending kids is building kinship.”
“Men are socialized to see their spaces as utilitarian, spaces that serve them. Women, we serve our spaces.” Anne Helen Peterson, one of my very favorites, strikes again with What Makes Women Clean.
You know the difference between knowing you should do something and knowing it is time to do something? October held one of those transitions for me – I realized it’s time to heal and regulate my nervous system. I’ve been living in a frenetic energy for a while now, chalking it up to wedding planning and grad school and internships. But life will never slow down, so I need to slow down. I’ve been reading The Secret Language of the Body and listening to the Cure for Chronic Pain podcast, and they have been so so healing and helpful.
I found this series by Nicole Antoinette called Workbooks for the People – free resources for self-exploration. They are crafted with so much thought and so much love I LOVE REFLECTION, so what a gift this is. My favorite thus far is What’s Next? A Quarterly Reflection Workbook.
🎧 what I listened to.
The glossiness of summer gives way to the nostalgic, contemplative sadness of fall. Slower. Sadder. Synthier. Autumnal.
The playlist that gives me enough space to hear myself think.
Fire Swimmer’s cover of cowboy take me away.
The albums Wildewoman by Lucius. Blind and Brave by the Wild Reeds. Messy by Olivia Dean. Ganging Up on the Sun by Guster.
💡 what I learned.
The part of you that demands productivity, who tries to fit three lives inside your one life, is just scared of having to choose. Scared of closing any doors. Scared of limits. It’s okay that she’s there — her feverish hard work has made so many things happen in your life — but she doesn’t need to steer the ship all the time.
Letting yourself feel sadness is so much less sad than not letting yourself feel sadness.
Experiences you build up in your head as “scary” and “overwhelming” are never as bad once you’re in it. Your mind and body are so capable of survival. The anticipation is always worse.
Just because the Divine *feels* far away doesn’t mean it is. Holding your breath doesn’t make the oxygen in the room disappear.
Until next time dear friends,
lk
OBSESSED!!!!! Every single thing is something I want to explore!!! Thank you friend for these gifts!!! Also, I’ve never heard of the lore of rabbit rabbit and I love knowing that exists hahah!
I love reading what you're thinking about. It makes the miles between us seem not so long! Love, Dad