Today’s goal: Adding meaning to the week…
Hypothetically smoking the word: “myth” today.
Most of my life I didn’t know why the English days of the week were so weird to spell or what they were based on.
This year I looked it up, they are German Gods. It’s interesting that while Christianity defined the years of the world for most of the world, the ancient Norse religion still holds the days of the week.
Recently I started crash course Mythology (with Mike Rugnetta) which chooses to consider both Christianity and the big bang theory for their stories without commenting on the veracity of either. I think that’s interesting and useful, I had to do that during art history in college. Much of older art is religious, but you don’t have to be religious to enjoy it, though you do end up learning a bit of the symbolism or terminology for art, and especially for history.
Mythology is generally defined as:
- A collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.
- The study of myths.
- Mythos (from Greek) means story [maybe true, maybe not]
Crash course defines myth as a story (mythos, from Greek, means story). It may be true, may be not true, but “the story will have significance and staying power which is a testament to the deep meaning or functional importance these stories have to the people who hear and tell them.”
Myth can be difficult to discuss, because it can be offensive, and I don’t really like to be offensive, honestly (I just want you to agree with everything I think without being offended “joke”), but I also find mythology interesting, ever since I was a girl, and also it’s kind of a “writer hack” to see what makes the unforgettable stories unforgettable.
One of the things I didn’t care for about this pandemic, was the week I used to have, got shattered into bits.
I really feel I need a “week” that has little unique aspects to get me past drudgery of chores psychologically.
One of the things that always picks me up in dark times of depression, illness, or pain is the beauty of the seasons.
Likewise having special days of the weeks in something I love.
My husband is home Saturday and Sunday, I teach school Monday – Friday at home, but I didn’t want a week that was:
husband day, school, school, school, school, school, husband day.
Some of the little things we have that are weekly are: family movie night Friday, family team meeting Sunday (or at least watching Nanny 911 together), eating as much ice cream and candy as we want Saturday (not much surprisingly), a writers meeting 12-2 PM Saturday – for me (via Zoom or Google Meet), “Dino Dana” or some kids show (normally not allowed) Saturday – for my daughter.
Those things all help me enjoy life surprisingly a lot.
Because it lets me get excited for everyday Friday, Saturday, Sunday of the year instead of just my birthday (actually I don’t get excited for my birthday at all anymore).
52 weeks a year x 3 days a week I get excited about = 156
If I have enough saved I give to the orphans on Sunday, 2 pretty cool things Sunday (possibly helping orphans, and family team meeting, 2 pretty cool things Saturday (writers meeting, and ice cream), 2 cool things Friday (a board game ie the sneaky snaky squirrel game, and a movie the winner picks).
So about 42% of the days of my life are exciting, at least to me…
It doesn’t always take big things, sometimes small things are quite valuable as long as they are the right things.
I would like to make school more exciting so the kids will really enjoy learning, I would like to make my daily life more exciting so I will enjoy these days that will someday be gone…
For me one way to do that is by having “daily themes” maybe you noticed?
I like love Mindfulness Monday, I like love Transformation Tuesday, I love World of Wordcraft Wednesday, but Thursday and Friday are less… polished, as is See the Good Sunday.
Perhaps I’ll do a satire Saturday for comics?
I’m not sure yet.
But even having Mindfulness Monday, Transformation Tuesday, and World of Wordcraft Wednesday does get me “jazzed up,” so honestly I do get 42% excited by just those “silly” writing themes. So rather than having something to look forward to 42% of the time thanks to my family and friends, I have 84% excitement due to the excitement of wordcraft.
Thursday is the hold out. I don’t hate “Tech Talk Thursday,” not at all, but it doesn’t resonate the same way the other days do.
I guess I’m finding that I’m authentically passionate about mindfulness and transformation, but although I sometimes find tech useful, and amazing, and fun, it is more of a valid struggle, than an excitement.
Mindfulness and transformation resonate with my soul, yet tech helps me manifest my soul and heart in the real world.
So, it’s different, quite different.
I don’t know how it reads as a reader, but as a writer, it’s much different. I actually am all excited to not skip my Monday article, yet Thursday it’s not a big deal if I were to miss a week and come back to it. I don’t dread coming back to it, yet it’s so different internally.
If I knew what I wanted to write, it wouldn’t “have to” start with the same letter as the day of the week, but sense I don’t, it helps me brainstorm:
I’m thinking of Traumatic Thursday, or TedTalk Thursday, or Travel Thursday, or Think About It Thursday… I don’t know yet. Transition Thursday… Taking Action Thursday? Teenage Mutant Turtle Thursday? Throw Back Thursday? Trading Stocks Thursday? Thank you Thursday? Too Much Information Thursday? Totally Tardigrades Thursday?
Anyways…
Ever since I bought my fancy-ish planner for 2020 at CVS, I wanted to have my value of the day and subject of the day figured out, it’s been about 8 months, and now I’m at the first draft stage.
I frequently want to have life and myself figured out much before I do have them figured out… but at least I keep trying and get there.
For now I’ve got:
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Integrity Mindfulness Transformation Meaning Purpose Love Inspiration
WORDS CAN HEAL
Putting a word to the day, that means something to me, was really healing against the trauma of having the old lifestyle shattered so abruptly (for an indefinite amount of time). This is something I like, that is pretty pandemic-proof.
WORDS CAN MAKE LIFE LESS OVERWHELMING
Also I was so overwhelmed trying to teach science to the kids, because we do a STEAM based curriculum (science, tech, engineering – though that is science, so that’s weird, art, math and motor). STAM? and if Math is science or technology then STA? Anyways our new science rotation is:
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Astronomy Chemistry Anatomy Physics Biology Economics Paleontology
WORDS CAN AMUSE
Having a value to each day is really nice, today being “meaning” for me.
I though because I wasn’t passionate about my past jobs that they were keeping me from finding my meaning in life, then I came upon many people saying that you never “find” meaning in life, you have to ascribe it “write in the answer” you have to “make it”.
As I tried, and I found that was true for me. In my life I had no meaning, because I didn’t personally find meaning in bad experiences, I didn’t find meaning in service that builds skills.
I still don’t enjoy poring over every bad thing looking for a life lesson, I still don’t enjoy service “the most” and I still don’t love when I don’t have the skills I would need to do something I want to do yet, but I’m more open to all of them and that allows me to the as is life I have right now, much more than I ever have.
WORDS CAN BUILD INTERNAL SUCCESS
I can’t prove my life has meaning, but choosing to let it have meaning, at least to myself, in my own mind finding meaning in life makes me feel successful in a way that winning things, having extra money or doing things other people found impressive, never did.
WORDS CAN LIE
One thing I dislike about words is that they can lie, and the lies can have real unfair repercussions such as the Mingi Lie: if babies with teeth that are one top rather than the bottom first are allowed to live the whole village will die from famine. Without words, that wouldn’t happen. Without words rape victims wouldn’t be shamed. There are some dangerous of words, which saddens me, but I’d rather take action against these “word monsters” than pretend they don’t exist.
The myth from CrashCourse Mythology #1: Persephone
That Persephone having been kidnapped to the underworld was responsible for winter and spring because her mom (the goddess of nature was sad when Persephone was with her husband in the underworld and happy when she was back with her on the surface of Earth).
DEMETER DOESN’T CAUSE WINTER THE 23.5ยฐ AXIS OF EARTH DOES
The myth is wrong as a real explanation of seasons, because the Northern Half of the world really has spring at the same time the Southern Half has winter. Is Persephone at home with Demeter or not? Can’t be both. Not a good model for seasons.
What “probably” really happened?
The moon hit the Earth a long time ago knocking it over, so it’s all tilted, some planets are not tilted at all or not much Mercury, Venus, Jupiter don’t have seasons as Earth does. Neptune is tilted 28.5ยฐ and has 41 year seasons. Seasons are not a given for planets and they are not based on being close or far from the sun, but rather tilted directly towards the line of fire of sunshine or indirectly towards it. Seasons are not a given for a planet to have, I find them beautiful and enjoyable, I think I would miss them if I lived on a space station or a planet with no seasons.
I LIVE A PERSEPHONE LIFESTYLE
The myth of Persephone does have some parallels to my life, I do enjoy living in Hawaii with my dad for 6 months, and with my husband in California for 6 months, which is a bit uncommon. Many animals (especially birds) migrate seasonally, in that way I am like a bird… When I’m gone from my dad, I think he is sad, which is ultimately his issue. Interesting enough, my husband does very well when I am away, he sees his friends, works out, has “him time” and video chats the kids everyday, he misses us a bit and treasures us more when we return (at least for awhile). Perhaps it’s the trauma of loosing us to a divorce that makes my dad less independent emotionally than my husband is or maybe just a lack of comfort with sitting with his feelings without the noise of my kids as a distraction?
Another metaphorical similarity, is that I consider California to be hell in contrast to Hawaii. Though many people like California, maybe even better than Hawaii, I sure don’t. I don’t like the crowds, do like the economic opportunities, don’t like the heat – at all, do like the world class cuisine, don’t like the materialism, do like the museums and national parks. Sometimes leaving my robust support system in Hawaii, where the average person shares many of my values and nature is deeply in harmony with your soul, going back to urban California really feels like descending into hell. Hawaii may be upper 80s and 100% humid often, but where I live in California 100-114 F (38-45 C) happens yearly, some people like to be inside and some people have air conditioning, not me on either account. So… not trying to complain, but I’m a person who hates the heat, who lives in the heat half the year and that is the number 1 reason I find Southern California to be hellish as much as it’s glamorized and idealized by other people who like the heat or don’t live here.
So, though it isn’t true the myth of Persephone somehow helps me make sense of something large and difficult to conceptualize (my seasonal migration) perhaps that is a useful aspect of mythology?
WORDS CAN HELP TAKE OWNERSHIP OF LIFE
By having a value of the day in my planner (since today) I take psychological ownership of my day in my quest for good, and likewise I take ownership of my week with a stoic quote of the week, week 35 is:
Our life is what our thoughts make it.
– Marcus Aurelius
I take ownership of my year during Kwanzaa, from December 26th – January 1st, which is a huge mindfulness fest that I enjoy.
Those things are small and seemingly insignificant from a financial or outward lens, but there are so major at shifting my mental and emotional outlook from victim-hood to proactivity that I mention them, hoping you can find your own substitute activity that works for you or acknowledge the value of the ones you already have so you don’t toss them aside someday without thinking about how much “the little things” help create balance and well being for all of us.
Words matter.
Words rule.
Words help.
What’s your word of the day, week, or year?
Mine is synergy, to me 2020 was about synergy for bad, and synergy for good.
WORLD EMOJI OF THE YEAR
Pandemic ๐ฆ VS โ๐ฟ Solidarity of Humankind
As of July 16th, 2020
Solidarity Won!
(the Zeitgeist of 2020).
Born to Be Alive 