The September Journal

Hello there,

Wherever you are in the world, welcome. Thanks for reading.

It must be the springtime folly that’s made me want to refresh and renew myself more than ever this month gone by. If you read The August Journal, you’ll know that September was my quest to become more. I wanted to foster more conscious thought, more awareness, more time, more knowledge. To do so, I split the month four ways and challenged myself to a different mindful activity. Not all were successful, but I must say, I’m feeling a sense of achievement. Have I stepped out of September any better? Probably not. But there’s a little lesson from each week that I’ll be carrying into the months to come in my pursuit for more.

 Let me present to you, my September:

Day 1: I’m not using any social media for a week. The apps are deleted from my phone and all my accounts are signed out of. It almost breaks my heart to bid farewell to YouTube – my daily routine involves a blissful morning hour where I watch cooking tutorials whilst I get ready. The time comes to lather on my face cream and it feels empty without the sound of a sizzling pan or the soothing tones of Nigella.

Day 4: I haven’t felt inclined to scroll through a feed once. This is great – I have so much more time. I’ve learned that people watching is far more entertaining than my Instagram feed will ever be.

Day 6: It’s been six days and I’ve read four books. The more time I spend away from the digital universe, the more I love life without it. I don’t want the week to be over, but I know I’m missing out on things – messages from friends, event invites, birthdays – and I realise that in 2018, it would be hard to have friends without cyberspace.

Day 7: I’m promoted to social media manager at work. Uncanny.

Welcome back Kelsey! What’s on your mind?

Well, Facebook, wouldn’t you like to know.  

Day 8: I’ve committed myself to one week without swearing. I’m not foul-mouthed, but I noticed I’ve been using some colourful language lately. My laziness will try and defeat no matter how hard I fight it. Since life has been getting more and more busy, it’s taking over in any way it can. Unfortunately, it’s holding my vocabulary as hostage.

Day 9: I’m having dinner with friends. I didn’t even mean to say it, it slipped out on its own accord (which is probably worse than being intentional). I can’t even blame it on the wine – I’m stone cold sober.

Day 13: A horrible realisation: I swear far more than I thought. How can a few words be so versatile? I can literally slot one in anywhere, talking about anything. Worse yet, I discover that I really miss using them. This week is proving harder than a digital detox.

Day 14: It’s over. Thank fuck.

Day 18: I wake up and remember that the third challenge should be well underway. I told myself I’d meditate for 10 minutes every day. Meditation to date: 0 minutes.

Day 21: It’s the last day of meditation week and I finally sit down to give it a go. It’s only been two minutes and I find myself with a burning desire to know what Mormons believe in. Don’t ask me why; these things just come to me. I have to Google it right away. I spend an hour on Wikipedia and I don’t meditate again.

Day 22: I’m at the Queen Vic Markets doing my weekly food shop. I walk past the discounted plastic bags full of veggies and mope as I pay full price for loose bits and pieces. I’ve decided not to use single-use plastic for a week. Surprisingly, my grocery bill isn’t too different from usual.  

I grab some things for home – dishwasher detergent, cooking oil, sponges – nothing comes without a pointless bit of wrapping on it. I think of where it all must go and have to stop myself. What are we doing to the world?

Day 26: We’re having brunch in a swish café in South Yarra. My overpriced peanut-butter-brittle-banana-bougie-smoothie is presented to me in a mason jar with a plastic straw. Great. Bottoms up.

Day 30: A religious user of the humble Keep Cup, I find myself without one this afternoon. I buy a coffee once every blue moon, and I have not used a disposable coffee cup all year. Whatever possessed me to buy one today, I have no idea.