The 'having it all' mantra resonates with me so much. I think we are so squeezed as women, by expectations which don't come from us, but have been internalised. The thigs I crave these days are often silence, time to be alone outside, time to create, time to think. Not the things I was ambitious for in my 20s and 30s.
Yes isn’t it interesting how that changes over time. But I find that the sheer amount of time I spend being traditionally calm and soft and nurturing makes me crave something much wilder.
I love this piece, Caro, and especially the pay-off line, because it speaks to another writer I quoted last night, Annie Ernaux: Passion is the bridge that connects our deepest desires to reality.
I'm glad you found last night's zoom on desire so inspiring.
Thus piece really talks to where I find myself in my life. I had never considered re-framing frustration at the limits of my life to desire before. Thank you
So much of this resonates Caro. I am loving reading your writing and feeling your power through your expression. I so admire your strength and resilience and am here by your side (in this virtual space) xx
I want to think more on what you've written in relation to desire as a positive framing for so many of the negative qualities women are so often accused of possessing. As you say, impatience, needing, even wanting...
I am like you in the sense that there is so much I'm hungry for in this life that's just for me, and yet I know one life (the being a mother at the very core of that life) means quite rightly that I have to learn to sit with my desire and be accepting of it. The reality is our days and evenings are not always/ever our own. You claim the morning and the darkness, while I claim a different slot in the day. There is so much I want to achieve in that time, yet I'll have to accept it will never be quite long enough.
It feels entitled saying some of this, as though I don't value the whole of the life I have. That's not it. It's only to acknowledge the challenges and the need to find what might feed us even if we are never quite full.
The 'having it all' mantra resonates with me so much. I think we are so squeezed as women, by expectations which don't come from us, but have been internalised. The thigs I crave these days are often silence, time to be alone outside, time to create, time to think. Not the things I was ambitious for in my 20s and 30s.
Yes isn’t it interesting how that changes over time. But I find that the sheer amount of time I spend being traditionally calm and soft and nurturing makes me crave something much wilder.
I love this piece, Caro, and especially the pay-off line, because it speaks to another writer I quoted last night, Annie Ernaux: Passion is the bridge that connects our deepest desires to reality.
I'm glad you found last night's zoom on desire so inspiring.
Yes! I wrote that quote down, it’s such a goody x
Thus piece really talks to where I find myself in my life. I had never considered re-framing frustration at the limits of my life to desire before. Thank you
So much of this resonates Caro. I am loving reading your writing and feeling your power through your expression. I so admire your strength and resilience and am here by your side (in this virtual space) xx
Thank you Lily x
I love this meditation. Im with Annie E -- desire is an end in itself.
I want to think more on what you've written in relation to desire as a positive framing for so many of the negative qualities women are so often accused of possessing. As you say, impatience, needing, even wanting...
I am like you in the sense that there is so much I'm hungry for in this life that's just for me, and yet I know one life (the being a mother at the very core of that life) means quite rightly that I have to learn to sit with my desire and be accepting of it. The reality is our days and evenings are not always/ever our own. You claim the morning and the darkness, while I claim a different slot in the day. There is so much I want to achieve in that time, yet I'll have to accept it will never be quite long enough.
It feels entitled saying some of this, as though I don't value the whole of the life I have. That's not it. It's only to acknowledge the challenges and the need to find what might feed us even if we are never quite full.
This is exactly how I feel and what I’d like to continue to try to articulate. X
Here's to yet more thinking, writing and talking...x