Afraid I have been a bit missing in action lately but I have really needed some down time to recharge and rejuvenate. I find I tend to absorb the stress and anxiety of others which can leave me feeling wiped out. Of late I have been a little surprised by the depth of anxiety being expressed by students, I feel certain it is more than the usual assessment stress but something a little more profound and debilitating but also vague and unidentified, I can only assume the pandemic is the cause. I have had a surprising number of conversations with students that revolve around uncertainty and sometimes panic but are actually storms in proverbial teacups. Mostly people have just needed to vent their stress and either realise through the conversation they can answer their own question or they just need to take a moment and a breath and let me point them in the right direction but they need to calm down and reengage brain before they can take on board what I am telling them sometimes. More than anything I feel like I have been acting as a sounding board for stressed students at the moment. I don’t mind at all, I can well remember what it feels like.
Unfortunately, a result is that I feel washed out and uninspired, so I have been taking time to just enjoy life, the moments, the peace. Swimming and long walks, I tried kayaking and can’t wait to buy a kayak and add that to my regular activities. I decided to not allow myself to feel pressured to post to the blog for a bit. To be honest, I have not had great internet for the last week, a blessing in itself really. Sometimes I just need to go bush for a few days and get away from humanity. #BookSnapSunday at least keeps up some regular discipline, with the weekly book snap post.
This week’s #BookSnapSunday is Sophie Cunningham’s City of Trees essays on life, death and the need for a forest. Cunningham an Australian writer delivers a fascinating collection of essays that reflect on our changing world, a mix of the profoundly personal and the larger political questions a changing world inspires. From the blurb: “City of Trees is a powerful collection of nature, travel and memoir writing set in the context of global climate change. It meanders through, circles around and sometimes faces head-on the most pressing issues of the day. It never loses sight of the trees”. This book has shown me how to slow down and really appreciate the trees around me. Cunningham has an Instagram which features a tree of the day check it out: https://www.instagram.com/sophtreeofday/?hl=en I have been inspired to engage even more deeply with the environment around me. Maybe the blog needs a tree of the week.
The gorgeous trees behind the book are I think a couple of pretty magnificent Indian almond trees, they have created the most beautiful shade canopy over the deck at Serenity cafe at Woodgate beach, a very aptly named cafe.
#BookSnapSunday is a weekly bookish Instagram meme hosted here at Gum trees and Galaxies.com, if you would like to join in please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. All you have to do is post an image of a book. Happy reading!
Gum trees and Galaxies 