Labors of Love

A few years ago, my sister introduced me to a writer called Chloe in Letters. She writes a monthly substack article, but posts excerpts of them on Instagram. I don’t know how exactly to describe her writing besides just authentically human. Fiona and I will send each other her posts every once and a while, and I take less than a minute to quickly scan the few sentences on Instagram. However, it was not until last month that I actually downloaded substack and started to fully read through her pieces. 

This month, she published a piece entitled, “This is what I do”. She spends the post talking about waking up early in the morning; how although she does it often, it never seems to get easier. However, she comes to the conclusion that maybe the fact that waking up early in the morning is inconvenient to her is what she finds so beautiful about it. She proceeds to call this idea a “Labor of Love”; most things that are good are inconvenient. If she were, “To sleep in and lose the labor and thus lose the morning, to wake without the labor and find the morning loses the preciousness”. 

As summer comes to a close and fall is in full fledged, I think it is now as important as ever to actively find the good. The changing of seasons and cold weather may sometimes feel daunting to enter, but maybe take this “inconvenience” and acknowledge all the things that you appreciate about it.

Here are my current “Labors of Love”

1. Along the lines of Chloe’s idea, I’ve been waking up early to walk. I’ll either walk outside alone, or meet up with my friends at the Jo. The other day my friends, Susan and Elle, and I saw the most beautiful sunrise I’ve seen in years.
2. Choosing to avoid highways when I drive locally, even if it takes longer. I love finding the perfect song and pointing out my favorite houses with all the windows down in my car. 
3. My friends and I linger in Kimball long after we have finished eating. Even though we are all busy, I think there is nothing better than a long dinner and conversations about anything under the sun.
4. Talking to someone you have never spoken to in class. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to have an unexpectedly funny conversation with a stranger.
5. Choosing to go out even if I planned on staying in. Relationships take constant effort, but isn’t that what makes them so special?

• #littlethings
• #love
• #writing