Not quite related to the post, but today I was weeding an area chock-full of invasives in my backyard, and I was trying to go relatively quickly because there’s so many of them, but I kept not getting all the roots, and the pace I was going at meant I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what were invasive roots and what weren’t (granted, sometimes they’re indistinguishable) so I ended up damaging some tree roots. I’d do this, feel bad & apologize to the tree, and then accidentally do the same thing a few minutes later.
I stopped for a sec and a) realized I had my hands in the ground but was completely in my head (like, the birds are always singing around my house and I couldn’t even remember paying attention in the last 20 minutes), and b) remembered you talking about listening to the earth & what she can teach us (I know this isn’t a new idea, you’re just whose words I remembered). I realized she was telling me to slow down, and that she needed me to be patient (which, as a chronically impatient person, was both ironic & needed).
Occasionally I’d speed back up, but then I’d remember that there was no point in trying to remove the invasives to prevent them from damaging the trees if I was just going to damage the trees myself (and then have the weeds grow back bc I didn’t get all the roots), and I’d ground myself again.
Earlier I thought “I feel like Frankie would like to know this”, and a few hours later I got the email that you’d posted, so here it is💗✨
"The purpose of maintenance work is to give us a daily experience of being cared for." Really resonated with me and (as always) your writing's arrival into my life feels very timely. (I am currently sitting on my couch contemplating a messy room and procrastinating on getting started on my evening routine because it feels like a lot of work.)
This resonates so much! And it reminds me of a book called “How to Keep House while Drowning,” by KC Davis! Thank you for the reminder that we have to take care of ourselves before we go out and impact the world: an empty cup can’t pour into someone else’s!
Frankie, my darling dearest sweet sweet ray of sunshine. I simply cannot fathom how on this green earth you and I are so frequently on the same path. Just today I was facing a conflict with a housemate ABOUT DISHES of all things and this is EXACTLY the type of message I have been hoping to impart on them. Thank you so much for seemingly always having the words for the things I need. You are a treasure, and I am eternally grateful for you.
I sent him this newsletter after we had done some reconciliation and ended up having a really productive conversation about what might be the root issue and how we can all work together towards a solution. I have hope it will improve!
Your suggestion to leave songs that made you cry this week made me want to share the song, 'Before the Deluge' by Jackson Browne. A friend I knew for a couple of years through activism passed away a couple of weeks ago and I watched the funeral online from afar. The song was played and it made me ball my eyes out and be so grateful for all the people I know who are fighting to make the world a better place, until the very end <3
I really needed to read this this week. My chronic illness sometimes makes it feel like all I'm capable of are maintenance tasks and even then so many of them are left not done. But what a beautiful thing to use my finite energy to feed myself and my partner, to clean our dishes, to wash my hair and body.
Not quite related to the post, but today I was weeding an area chock-full of invasives in my backyard, and I was trying to go relatively quickly because there’s so many of them, but I kept not getting all the roots, and the pace I was going at meant I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what were invasive roots and what weren’t (granted, sometimes they’re indistinguishable) so I ended up damaging some tree roots. I’d do this, feel bad & apologize to the tree, and then accidentally do the same thing a few minutes later.
I stopped for a sec and a) realized I had my hands in the ground but was completely in my head (like, the birds are always singing around my house and I couldn’t even remember paying attention in the last 20 minutes), and b) remembered you talking about listening to the earth & what she can teach us (I know this isn’t a new idea, you’re just whose words I remembered). I realized she was telling me to slow down, and that she needed me to be patient (which, as a chronically impatient person, was both ironic & needed).
Occasionally I’d speed back up, but then I’d remember that there was no point in trying to remove the invasives to prevent them from damaging the trees if I was just going to damage the trees myself (and then have the weeds grow back bc I didn’t get all the roots), and I’d ground myself again.
Earlier I thought “I feel like Frankie would like to know this”, and a few hours later I got the email that you’d posted, so here it is💗✨
Also as an autistic girly who’s struggled with maintenance tasks for a long time, thank you for this post🥹🫶🏻
ugh I LOVE this. SO beautiful that you were able to hear from the earth at that moment. The trees are thanking you for listening!
"The purpose of maintenance work is to give us a daily experience of being cared for." Really resonated with me and (as always) your writing's arrival into my life feels very timely. (I am currently sitting on my couch contemplating a messy room and procrastinating on getting started on my evening routine because it feels like a lot of work.)
I'm so glad it found you in the right moment, hope you're feeling so cared for today!
This resonates so much! And it reminds me of a book called “How to Keep House while Drowning,” by KC Davis! Thank you for the reminder that we have to take care of ourselves before we go out and impact the world: an empty cup can’t pour into someone else’s!
Love KC!
Frankie, my darling dearest sweet sweet ray of sunshine. I simply cannot fathom how on this green earth you and I are so frequently on the same path. Just today I was facing a conflict with a housemate ABOUT DISHES of all things and this is EXACTLY the type of message I have been hoping to impart on them. Thank you so much for seemingly always having the words for the things I need. You are a treasure, and I am eternally grateful for you.
Courtneyyyy love that the magic keeps us aligned in this way!! Hope you and your housemate were able to resolve things so sweetly.
I sent him this newsletter after we had done some reconciliation and ended up having a really productive conversation about what might be the root issue and how we can all work together towards a solution. I have hope it will improve!
Your suggestion to leave songs that made you cry this week made me want to share the song, 'Before the Deluge' by Jackson Browne. A friend I knew for a couple of years through activism passed away a couple of weeks ago and I watched the funeral online from afar. The song was played and it made me ball my eyes out and be so grateful for all the people I know who are fighting to make the world a better place, until the very end <3
The movie perfect days about a man in Tokyo who cleans toilets is the perfect film example of this concept!!!!
I really needed to read this this week. My chronic illness sometimes makes it feel like all I'm capable of are maintenance tasks and even then so many of them are left not done. But what a beautiful thing to use my finite energy to feed myself and my partner, to clean our dishes, to wash my hair and body.