Chapter Twelve
in the lowly places...
Hi friends,
How are you? I’m struggling to see the best in situations, barely above water, and it seems the waves want to keep me. It is comforting they want to keep me, but if I stay, we know what happens when one is underwater for minutes without breathing.
What’s a remedy for this? Building routines. I haven’t built a steady pattern because I struggle with consistency. It is evident in almost every part of my life. I shouldn’t criticise myself, but getting my head above water is necessary. If you find yourself in this situation, let’s commit to making routines and infusing activities to make us feel alive.
These are some things I have participated in recently that make me feel alive; taking walks, cooking (especially recipes I see on the internet), curating my social media feed (more on this soon), watching movies, series, K-drama, listening to music, watching cooking and lifestyle videos, learning about myself and all the things that make me.
As for the routine, I must learn to ditch my phone in the mornings and evenings before I fall asleep. My distorted focus comes from my gadgets, so they must be in the background often. If you struggle with this, let us make the conscious effort to ditch our phones, tablets and laptops for hours. Hopefully, positive results will come out of this.
I thrive in quiet spaces. I find mornings my time for deep thinking and basking in the stillness. My body has adjusted to randomly waking between the hours of 3:30 am to 4:30 am, which isn’t disconcerting at all. I should take advantage of it. For those who find morning people annoying like me, perhaps your time for deep thinking, solitude or rest is at night. Find the time when you can be at rest to recharge and re-centre yourself.
My younger brother came home recently. I missed his presence in my daily routine; the hugs, laughter, conversations and watching TV shows together. We’ve reminisced on our childhood and the silly things we did. Those were good times when we didn’t have to worry about how shitty this country is.
Onto the books…
As mentioned earlier, my inconsistency has affected every part of my life. Sadly, my reading didn’t escape it. August is Women in Translation month and one of my favourite months in the bookish calendar. I’ve seen some books from book bloggers, and the hashtags #witmonth or #womenintranslation month on Instagram I have added to my TBR.
Meanwhile, I’m currently oscillating these books; Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi and Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye. Blood Scion is my first African fantasy book and it’s been intriguing. Apart from Coco Mellors talking about the lives of the titular characters, we dabble into the lives of their friends too. Mellors talks about alcoholism, drug addictions, career choices, finding your path in the world etc. I’m listening to the audiobook and reading along- an exquisite experience, if you ask me.
TV shows…
In the previous newsletter, I gushed about Sweet Magnolia, a drama series on Netflix about three friends and their lives in a small town called Serenity. The third season came out last month and I couldn’t stop myself from binge-watching it in one night. This season was on forgiveness, renewal of vows, therapy, friendship, holding space for the people in your life, slow-burn romance, choosing oneself, acceptance and seeking help. I particularly enjoyed the space the men in this series held for each other. This show depicted healthy male-relationship and it made me wonder about friendship amongst men generally. Anyway, I talked about it on my social media platforms which lead to wholesome conversations with other Magnolias.
If you want a wholesome, warm and incredibly amazing drama series set in a small town (which I will want to live in sometime in future), please watch Sweet Magnolias and come talk to me about it.
I’m also watching Young Sheldon, the Good Witch and King the Land-all on Netflix.
What I’m listening to…
I recently found this Christian pop duo; For King and Country and their songs have been uplifting. Hozier has released a new album which I will listen to at night. I find listening to a new album in the quietness of night hastily helps me reach a verdict. Is this a good album? What songs will be on repeat? Should I rate it a 2/5 and move on with my life? These sorts of questions my mind comes up with and I have to give answers.
I guess this is it!
Take care of yourself and embrace abundance because there will be an abundance of blessings, love and grace coming to you. I hope you ( and I) will recognise them when they happen.
xoxo
Ebele
I hope the waves release you soon and things start looking up! 💙
I’ve watched a few episodes of Sweet Magnolias but I got distracted by other things. I think I may try watching it again.