Moving the creativity indoors
The Creative Buddhist Sunday Supplement
Hello you,
I arrived back in Sweden just before the clocks changed, in time to hibernate. I’ll get to enjoy some last moments on the allotment before we put it to bed. It’s not possible to garden the year round here as it is in the UK, the ground will become frozen and covered in snow. I like that. It’s time to get creative indoors instead.
I am a ‘jack of all trades’, which also means I’m a master of none. This winter I’m committing to getting better at just one thing, sewing. Please hold me to it! Let us know below what you’d like to get better at this winter and we’ll try to keep each other on track.
Diary extracts: I love writing the Sunday Supplement. It’s fun to share things I’ve come across. So I thought I’d do something similar as a monthly post on Friday’s Creative Buddhist. I’ve called it ‘diary extracts’ and it’s just a collection of random things I’ve been thinking about during the month. You can check out October’s post with a free 7-day subscription.
Newsletter - Cafe Anne on Multi-tasking: I’ve recommended Cafe Anne before, she’s such fun. In One Thing at a Time, Lady!, she’s attempting to go a whole week without multi-tasking. Her observations are both insightful and hilarious.
Digital Notebook - Why I Adore the Night: It’s that time again! The yearly reading of Jeanette Winterson’s essay, Why I Adore the Night. I read it every autumn when we change the clocks. It’s a reminder of how much there is to look forward to.
Politics - Rory Stewart on the History of Israel-Palestine: I’m avoiding most news reporting as I find it all too sensationalist. But I listen to ‘The Rest is Politics’ with Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell. I appreciate their intelligence and humanity. Here Rory attempts to explain the history of Israel-Palestine in 10 minutes.
Music - Prefab Sprout, I Trawl the Megahertz: A friend on retreat pointed me in the direction of this epic and beautiful poem; I Trawl the Megahertz. I recommend listening to it in the bath in the dark.
Cooking - Nourishing Traditions: One thing I’ve missed this year is my kitchen. Eddie the van had a couple of burners and no fridge. And I was never in Sweden long enough to ferment a batch of kimchi and have time to eat it! This winter I’ll be digging into Nourishing Traditions, it’s all about how we cooked and preserved food in the past. Once upon a time we knew how to eat, for our health and for the planet, and the wisdom is all still there waiting for us.
A quote I’m thinking about:
“Renunciation is realising that nostalgia for samsara is full of shit.”
- Chögyam Trungpa
Share the Sunday Supplement with someone who might enjoy it!
Next week’s Sunday Supplement will be crowdsourced. It’s a chance to share what’s inspiring you in the realms of dharma and creativity. I loved the last crowdsourced edition, so squirrel away anything good you find this week and share it next Sunday!
Sending some love your way,
Vajradarshini
P.S. Absolutely last chance to jump aboard the Wabi-Sabi Month, starting 1st November.
This Week’s Tip - Pack away your summer wardrobe:
It’s the norm here in Sweden to pack away your summer wardrobe even though there are so few items that seem to be absolutely and only meant for summer. As we need more space, I’ve decided to half my wardrobe, or create two capsule wardrobes. I’ll pack away the summer one this weekend. True, that thin linen jumper could be a winter layer but it’ll be more fun to discover it anew in the Spring!
My love of mushrooms on toast with fresh parsley comes from one of Jeanette Winterson’s suggestions in her piece. And I’m packing away my summer wardrobe today - it’s a Northern European habit from the time when there were still clear and predictable seasonal patterns I think, but I’m holding on to it as a lovely ritual for a little while longer...with the swimming costume in easy reach for those sudden sunny spells! And collages, I want to expand my experiments with that medium - including possibly some painting with pigments ground from local stones and soils - I just recently learnt how to do that - as part of connecting ever more deeply with this particular place.
Going to Fotografiska today and hoping to get lunch in the bistro/cafe (not the restaurant). Ha! we are doing exactly that - lunch out , dinner in each day, definitely need to keep an eye on those pennies 😁 we might also do the modern museum today and then maybe the Nobel prize museum tomorrow. I heard some of the ferries to the outer islands are free this time of year so we need to check that out too. I would have loved to see the candles for All Saints Day, I imagine it’s very beautiful.