My Summer Days

Caring for and Cultivating What Matters Most

At this moment, summer abounds, and this generally means sweltering heat, intense humidity, mosquito bites, and snakes (lots and lots of snakes). But we also have the longest periods of daylight and sunshine. Fireflies dance and float around like magical fairies in the night. Splashing around on a beach, in a creek, or in a swimming pool becomes life-affirming and super fun. And, of course, eating cold, sweet ice cream on a hot summer day might actually be better than sex.

My summer includes all of the above, but this year, I have been thinking a lot about monks—yes, monks, as in Buddhist, Tibetan, or Hindu to be specific. A monastic life, among various spiritual practices, involves paring down one’s entire existence into what is simplest and most essential. A monk’s days follow a consistent rhythm that pursues peace and balance both in one’s mind and spirit and throughout one’s surroundings.

I certainly do not live in a monastery, and I love my home and community just as it is. But I am intrigued by the ways a monastic sensibility and sense of discipline might be a sustainable way to abide by a meaningful existence.

I have been thinking about what is most essential in my life and what gives me joy. Every day, I make the time for all those things.

Caring for my partner, family, friends, and animals is a big priority. I make the effort to connect with at least one important person every day by phone, text, or email, and I always check in with my partner in person. I am currently caring for two rescued kittens with daily feedings, cuddles, and litter box training. (Yes, I found a forever home for one of them already, so I am down to two.) My adult cat Steinway gets lots of love whenever I see him, and our dogs can dependably get a belly rub from me whenever they want.

Playing a piano or keyboard is the most grounding and foundational practice in my life. I invest one to three hours into playing piano or composing every day. It is as much an emotional release as it is a creative endeavor for me.

Writing is an artistic practice I have pursued since I was a child in third grade devising ridiculous short stories for class. These days, I write here on WPR, on my logbook every day, and for my music and films. I write to become more articulate and clear about all that I say. It is integral to who I am.

Visual art is also an expressive outlet for me. I spend at least a half hour to an hour working on something visual. This could be a pencil drawing of an abstract flower, taking photos or filming on my DSLR camera, coloring in a coloring book, or an embroidery project.

I also love to spend time outdoors. This summer, an early hour of my mornings has been dedicated to gardening. The air is fresh and (sometimes) cool, and I feel the morning sun on my body. It is a wonderful way to start any day.

Here is a gallery of photos I took of the summer blooms that MaxZine has been cultivating in our garden:

I read books (digitally and otherwise) and sneak in an average of one to two hours of reading before the end of the day, but this often happens in small increments of 15 to 20 minutes in between projects. My summer reading is currently focused on an LGBTQ Pride reading list that was created by my library. I have found some lovely books on this list about people in my tribe.

Taking care of my home is another priority for me. This involves cleaning and tidying various spaces each day such as my studio, car, the kitchen, our greenhouse, and bathroom. I keep an eye on my plants for when they get dry enough for watering and wage a daily battle against resilient dust.

You might be wondering how I fit all this in. I get up around 5:00 AM on most days, and these essential activities are time-blocked into a pretty nerdy schedule that I keep. I stay away from my cell phone and social media as much as possible, and I watch very little television. I make time for my paid freelance work and Chinkapin Craftstead responsibilities throughout the week as well as bigger creative projects that are taking a lot of time to finish.

This is where that monastic sensibility comes in. Find out what is most essential and meaningful in your life and build those practices into a simple daily rhythm.

Of course, there are days when some or all these activities do not happen, but I fend those off as much as I can by planning accordingly. (Quiet early mornings are conducive to my efforts.)

My summer is currently full of engagements that fill my life with love, creativity, and inspiration.

What if we could aspire to make each season of our lives a wonderful one that is rich with meaning and joy? Perhaps this is too lofty a goal, but maybe it is entirely possible with a little bit of gentle monastic effort.

I am certainly willing to try, and I am enjoying myself along the way.

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Roqué’s Artist Dates

I want to add a new section at the end of these weekly WPR issues that describe my artist dates. Years ago, I participated in a workshop with a group of friends that explored Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. This book is a thoughtful, well-written guidebook that outlines actionable practices to harness artistic creativity and inspiration in one’s life. One of the of the practices I loved was an artist date.

An artist date is a regular excursion one takes to find inspiration or something fun and cool to geek out on. I want to pursue this practice again on a weekly basis and document it here on WPR. I will include a paragraph describing where I went and what I did and no more than one or two photos. These excursions will be done alone and will also involve some sort of creative or functional activity (as opposed to being completely passive).

Here is my first featured artist date:

Last Saturday, after picking up some goods at a local farmer’s market, I went to a new restaurant called Brothers Ramen in Murfreesboro. (I LOVE ramen and aspire to learn how to make my own some day.) I ordered the Tonkastu Ramen which included pork belly chashu, scallions, spinach, kikurage, mushroom, corn, red ginger, and a half boiled egg. To my absolute delight, it was some of the best ramen I have ever had—perfectly seasoned and with a rich flavor. The Japanese decor and the manga art adorning the walls also made me so happy. The flavors in my mouth and the visual feast were more than enough for me to geek out on. (I was sat in front of a big screen that was playing a crazy anime film, and I worked on some embroidery while I ate.) I loved the place and left feeling full and inspired.

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All photos by Roqué Marcelo.