Good morning to all 225 readers. To borrow a joke I’ve seen floating around on Twitter: It’s Friday, or as we now call it, “day”. Were you forwarded this email? If so, you can sign up here. —Jack
Today’s challenge: Revisit a previous day's challenge.
Crisis tills the soil. It uproots old habits, exposes them to the clean air, makes fertile the ground of your life—for new experiences and new practices.
But routines don’t form overnight. That’s why it’s called practice. And the difference between healthy and unhealthy habits comes down to attention—intention—and ongoing maintenance, and vigilance.
Revisit the previous weeks’ challenges. You can find the full archive here. Which did you complete, and which did you skip? For the ones you skipped—out of lack of time, will, or interest—take a second look. For the ones you completed, ask yourself: which can you see becoming a regular part of your life? Take this opportunity to practice them again.
Or, allow your tasks and challenges to remain undone. For this one day, at least, give up striving, and let the soil grow wild:
Let the grass spring up tall, let its roots sing
and the seeds begin their scattering
Let the weeds rejoin and be prolific throughout.
Let the noise of the mower be banished, hurrah!
Let the path become where I choose to walk, and not
otherwise established.