Reread Archives - Sustainable Sue

Spiders + Flying Cars = Sanctuary?

Like many people, focus has been hard for me lately. I have not been able to read very much during the COVID19 pandemic. Audiobooks seem to work, but there is always a long wait for me to borrow these from the library. I currently have a seven month wait for American Dirt. Waiting that long for a book isn’t what I would call productive reading.

But in the last 6 weeks or so I find myself chafing against needing to be productive all the time. This is what I love about the concept of SUSTAINABLE productivity. What is the smallest part I can do? Even if it is only not moving backwards – that is progress. It is not always hard charging forward, it is finding the next right step, however gentle it needs to be.

I have found rereading Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets to be soothing though. I started going through the series again after I found the podcast, Harry Potter and The Sacred Text. This podcast will be familiar to those of you who have been subscribers for awhile since I wrote about Book 1, Chapter 2 resonating with me last year.

Sanctuary: Aragog (Book 2, Chapter 15)

In this chapter, Harry and Ron meet Argog, the giant spider. We learn Hagrid gave Argog sanctuary in the Forbidden Forest after hatching Argog in a cupboard. But although, Argog loves Hagrid, he does not protect Harry and Ron from the other spiders and the boys make a run for it. The flying car zooms in to take the boys back to the sanctuary of Hogwarts and the Gryffindor common room. These are certainly two very different forms of sanctuary.

I love the idea of sanctuary. A place of refuge or safety. As discussed in this episode of the podcast, it is a place usually silent. A place where I can make room to hear more from the universe. Nature is a significant sanctuary for me. In the stress of isolation and social distancing, I try to spend some time outside every day. If simply being outside does not slow down my monkey mind, I look try to slow down and use my senses to engage more in my surroundings.

I see beautiful spring flowers.
I smell newly cut grass.
I feel the breeze on my face.
I taste the fresh air as I take a deep breath.
I hear the chirping birds.

lavender field — I only wish this was my yard. But it was a sanctuary for sure.
This is Jardin du Soleil – a lavender farm in Sequim, WA that we visited on vacation in 2018.

Cozy is definitely a requirement for a sanctuary for me. I need to be comfortable. Burrowed in the covers in bed is another favorite sanctuary.

I feel the softness of my flannel pajamas.
I hear the sound of Lucille snoring while she naps next to me.
I see my favorite things around my bedroom – certain books and photos, especially.

One of my favorite sanctuaries is cuddling with Lucille and a book.

Do you have a favorite sanctuary? How are you keeping your mind from spinning out? If not, how do you bring your self back when needed?

Songs of the Humpback Whale – Jodi Picoult

Rating: 4 stars

Cliff Notes: Accidental unicorn. This was a reread, but I did not realize it until too far in. I figured if I forgot so much I might as well redo it.

Full Summary: I like how this was written backwards. I remember when I read it the first time that I was confused for quite a bit of the first half of the book. Which is probably why I don’t remember so much of it. This barely counts as a reread.

I like how much this book honors young love. Love when you are a teenager is different. It is often dismissed as puppy love or not “real” love. It might not be a love you can base a future on and God help me if I would have married a person who liked who I was when I was 15 or expected me to stay that poor same young woman. But those first loves are big and deep and real. Jodi Picoult does a wonderful job of presenting it in this novel.