Friday Mood Recs: Some personal projects for 2025
Yes, the allusion is intentional
Readers, I know we’re still only in November and I have no desire to usher in 2025 any quicker than need be. But since the election, all the cabinet appointments, and the ongoing anxiety over what the next several years will look like, I have been feeling a deep desire to be more intentional and to live in a way that aligns more with my values.
For today’s Mood Recs, I put together a list of my intentions for the new year—my personal project 2025, if you will. But all of these are things I’m starting to implement or think through now. Fall always feels like the real new year to me and the election results meant another monumental shift so why not start the feel-good changes immediately.
So here are the things I’m doing and plan to do to live and work more intentionally. Some of these are reading related, some are life related, all of them are about striving to align my existence with my values in the ways that I am able.
Curb my consumption habits. I can’t quite explain why but I woke up the day after the election with a deep disgust for my own consumerism and since then I’ve felt a real aversion to online shopping content—just in time for all the gift guides to roll out! I love clothes and I love to shop so this is new for me, and I’m not sure how long my repulsion will last. But even if my urge to shop returns, I’m going to keep it in check next year. I just don’t need anything new! Scaling back on what I buy and making intentional purchases from small businesses definitely feels like a way to live in greater alignment with my values.
Find joy in nature and poetry. I want to do more for the environment and I think that starts with feeling invested in and wonder at the natural world. I want to be outside more but I also want to read more beautiful words about the natural world to deepen my own awe.
Get involved in something local. Since leaving teaching in 2020 I’ve felt pretty out of touch with my physical community. I have wonderful local friends and online communities that are vital to me, but I want to be more engaged in my local life. I’m not sure what this is going to look like yet. Maybe volunteering somewhere or getting involved in a community group, but I just know I want to be physically present in my own community.
Read more philosophy and literary theory. I know, I know…liberals are out of touch elitists and this venture is certainly not going to improve my case in that regard. But I am craving the experience of puzzling through difficult ideas, considering what it means to live a good life, and reading my books with more insight from wise readers who came before me.
Improve my vocabulary. Remember in 1984 how the government bans words to keep people from thinking subversive thoughts? That’s not necessarily happening politically, but I feel like its been happening to me personally. In the years since leaving grad school, then leaving teaching, then becoming a mom, my brain seems to be pruning the words I no longer use and I truly feel like it’s limiting my capacity to think (I mean, how many times have I relied on the word “feel” in this post?!”). I bought a word-a-day desk calendar and have been keeping a running list of new-to-me words in my books as I annotate.
Support small presses. I’ve tried to do this more and more in recent years, but I want to be even more committed to it now. Big publishing houses are big businesses, and while I won’t stop reading books from the big guys, I want to increase the number I read from independent publishers. It’s more important than every to keep indie pubs up and running, plus I want to be exploring stories and ideas that aren’t as mainstream. If you’re interested in doing this too, many small publishing house have subscriptions which allow you to support them on a recurring basis and treat yourself to new books.
Donate to reforestation efforts. There were many things that moved me in What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson that I hope to weave into my life, but one major takeaway that was easy for me to implement immediately was beginning these ongoing donations. I’m currently supporting Mangrove Action Project because mangroves are so important and so cool!
Read slowly. We often talk in the book world about how reading promotes empathy, but that actually depends as much on how we read as what we read. Reading slowly allows us to engage more fully with interpretation and imagination, and that is what builds empathy. Slow reading isn’t always possible given my workload, but I want to let the books I read marinate and become lasting experiences.
Engage more deeply with cultural criticism. In this Reading in Public conversation from last year,
and I differentiate reviews from criticism with the idea that criticism somehow contextualizes a piece of art. I would like to do more in depth literary criticism in this space because I think contextualizing the way books influence and are influenced by social and political shifts is important in this moment.Participate in creative collaborations. As I’ve grown this business and become a mom, it’s become more and more important to me to own my time and independently operate my schedule. But I also don’t want to become siloed. I love engaging in big ideas with other creatives, practicing true discussion, and learning from others. I’m hoping to participate in more conversational criticism and creative collaborations in the new year, so reach out if this is something you want too!
Discover and implement my “Venn Diagram Project.” This is another Ayana Elizabeth Johnson inspired goal. In her book, she writes about finding your climate action by considering where your skills, the world’s needs, and the things that bring you joy intersect. That point of intersection is your climate action—but this process can, of course, be applied to any action. I have some ideas rumbling around in my brain that I’m not ready to introduce or even tease yet, but I’m feeling very energized about how I want to move forward.
Tell me your thoughts! What moves are you making to read and live intentionally?
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Happy reading!
Sara
Love this Sara! I have a birthday this weekend and I’ve been thinking about how I want to show up … I might borrow a few of your ideas. I definitely want to be more intentional and connective with (most of) what I read. And I’m going to give myself that beautiful hardcover edition of What If We Get It Right for more ideas. Thank you!
I've mentioned before that I spent 15+ years in the environmental/sustainability sector (still consult, though on a much smaller scale) so I have thoughts and resources. I'm happy to talk any time you want - hit me up for a zoom. But for now, here are some thoughts.
1. Your instinct to reduct consumption is absolutely correct, both from an environmental and political perspective. "The Story of Stuff" is an animated short documentary that's a bit old by now, but does a great job of going through the links between consumption and the capitalist system. The oligarch wouldn't have as much power as they do if we didn't buy their stuff over and over. Another interesting resource is "No Impact Man" by Colin Beavan. Also a bit old at this point, and he's an acknowledged priviliged urban white guy, but he goes *hard* on an experiment to reduce his impact. Like, he lives without a refrigerator to see if he can, that kind of thing. At the end of the year, he does some interesting analysis about what actions he'll keep doing (spoiler, he returns to having a refrigerator) but keeps doing some of the rest.
2. I burned out on my last sustainability role, at least in part because my day-to-day work was stuff that I was good at but that didn't come naturally to me and that I didn't really like. The Venn Diagram is so smart - I would regularly coach students I worked with to lean in to the things that they liked and enjoyed. All movements have room for a ton of different skills.
3. In the overlap of reducing consumption and getting involved in the local community, keep an eye out for buy-nothing groups, tool libraries, toy libraries, repair cafes, that kind of thing. I regularly worked with students to help them see the connections between the break down in trust/ lack of community and overconsumption. We don't share things very well anymore, and anything you can do to engage in the sharing economy helps rebuild those connections.