How We Spend Our Days

a reflection on learning how to live a more integrated life.

In my last newsletter I wrote about moments of awe, specifically eclipse-chasing and being open to the possibility of being amazed. In this newsletter I’m considering the opposite: the long stretches of space between eventfulness.

Annie Dillard says it best in a quote from her book The Writing Life:

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Very often it feels as though I am racing towards a goal or some point in the future where I can finally be fully present. This can look like working towards a vacation or a residency, or finishing a day’s tasks in order to have a few precious moments to connect with loved ones, or time to paint for myself.

I’m extremely lucky to have a job I enjoy. That being said, it is still a means to an end. I organize workshops and teach classes so that I have the means to work on what I feel like I was put on this earth to do, which is to love what I love, and to explore the mysteries of life through making art.