simply the best
by Julia Macintosh
In praise of slow work and friendship
The editing for Unpsychology issue 10 — Edges — continues apace — well that is, a very human pace. Or in my case: a snail’s pace. The members of our editorial team have each been tasked with walking alongside a group of pieces, to shepherd them each into shape; however I’m still organising my connections with authors and still going through their texts. Not quite ready. Bringing up the rear, yet again.
It’s because I have been so busy lately, with a multitude of projects and commitments, touching a wide network and a plethora of interests. I have been spinning many plates this month. Well. Every month. It’s been quite the year so far. And I’m wondering if I need to find a different approach.
Here’s why I’m wondering. Last weekend I travelled down from Edinburgh to London, for a weekend’s adventure. Among the fun things I spent my time doing (textile art exhibit at the Barbican; embroidery workshop at a beautiful Victorian pub; browsing at Foyles famous bookshop; watching an incredible one-man-show called Harry Clarke at the Ambassador Theatre) I managed to do something extra special: I met up with our very own Unpsychology sound editor Patrick Carpenter. For real. In person.
We sat over a Sunday lunch beside a fireplace, sampling the fare and talking about many unpsychological things. It was the highlight of my trip. Because connections and friendships and sitting together having a chat is just quite simply The Best.
So in the midst of my ridiculously busy schedule, I am called right now to slow down. To accept the snail’s pace without guilt or shame. To stare out the window in a spaced out gaze, to pull out my knitting needles or my embroidery hoop, to simply slow down and listen to my lungs breathing in and out, and my heart beating kathump kathump.
I was recently recommended the book How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. And I’ve long been a fan of Tom Hodgkinson’s books How to be Idle and How to be Free. One finds similar messages in Slow Productivity by Cal Newport and In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore and Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee.
Yet I don’t want to do nothing. There are so many delicious, interesting things to do in this life. So many ways to reach out and connect. So much adventure to be had.
I suppose it is a case of learning to balance the doing with the nothing. Spinning oneself dizzy with endless tasks soon loses its charm; while a diet of nothing-but-nothing leaves one mired in ennui. So I offer this as a contemplation of better ways, dear reader: to appreciate the slow, to enjoy the things, and to always, always find time to meet up with a friend.
Julia Macintosh and Patrick Carpenter are editors of Unpsychology Magazine issue 10 (Edges), alongside Steve Thorp and Lesley Maclean. The next edition of the magazine is due for publication in the summer of 2024, but we are taking our precious time to build relationships and to appreciate this slow and beautiful journey!
