I have no idea why, but I’ve been feeling quite serene the past few days.

And more astonishingly, am still serene even after an action-packed day at SML. I feel as though I’ve had a holiday (though of course I haven’t).

Long may this continue! Or if it can’t long-continue, may I get some insight into the serenity formula.

♥

I’ve started reading Thursday Murder Club.

I’ll admit I had certain preconceived ideas and not-great expectations based on the title, but it’s utterly charming, delightful and amusing and you should totally drop what you’re doing and grab a copy.

Disclaimer: I haven’t finished and it could still take a turn (see also: squid game)

♥

In other reading:

I also completed the latest Liz Byrski. I saw her books once described as “chook lit”, which was an absolutely perfect description. Not my favourite of hers, but light, cozy and comforting.

And Oliver Burkeman: Four thousand weeks – there’s some excellent ideas/concepts in here and it is well worth a read. I do occasionally struggle with his writing style as it often veers toward that snarky, superior, too-funny-clever, miserable-Brit thing. That’s pretty ill-described, but I think you know what I mean.

♥

This quote (from an article linked in the latest creative mornings newsletter) is pretty much nails what I’ve been striving for for years

I used to think a routine was a secret, magical formula, and that only one correct version for me existed. Once I finally cracked the code, I figured, I would become my best self — a perfect, beautiful, calm, successful, and unflappable version of myself who would stay perfect, beautiful, calm, successful and unflappable forevermore because she had figured out her Routine and she never strayed from it ever again.

Bustle: How to know when to drop a routine.

Thankfully I finally (for the moment) seem to have abandoned the notion that this perfect routine is achievable or indeed desirable. It is bonkers how we’re all so heavily conditioned to treat ourselves as little individual machines and endlessly seek the perfect way to operate those machines. I’m thankfully beginning to gently rebel against all that.

♥