A tale of instability

It’s like that joke that never gets old: a person who cuts their own bangs, trust me, is going through stuff. This longing for control and change and fulfillment and change, trapped in the rat wheel of the modern adult experience. Our unfinished business, big or small- the side project you never concluded, the relationship that never really had closure. We want more, novelty, quantity. Something to control, this time it will be different, newly acquired convictions that shift with the moon.

If stability is the goal, why do we create instability ourselves? Why do we seek it, flies attracted to its light?

Instability is at the core of conflict. In real life, conflict is an unwanted guest. In stories, conflict is the beating pulse.

Conflict and instability came to mind many times during the past months when I would sit down to write a newsletter issue only to come up empty. Words would bloom but paragraphs would dwindle. So much to say, so little to say. I felt conflicted because even though plenty is happening and many new thoughts are thought-ing, nothing feels concrete or concluded or ready to be put onto the page. Expressing your feelings, opinions and ideas requires solving an inner conflict sometimes too subtle to notice, others too big to surpass. I don’t believe that whatever ideas or epiphanies the excellent past months brewed within me are ready to breathe, so let’s talk about the trivialest of trivial instead: time.

Summer peaked and went away with little fanfare. Here up north leaves shake with the chill wind, coffee shops serve pumpkin-spiced everything, people wear their boots and trees wear their reds. The news, the dreadful parade of news. Paris is riddled with bedbugs (throwback to the good old medieval plagues), climate change is alive and kicking, cuffing season is here. Twitter is not dead- yet. Games releasing, lay-offs happening. Months feel shorter (September, the inexistent month). Soon the fairy lights are up, and then what?

This year is so rushed, instability and conflict at every corner. Do you feel it too?

Next time, maybe, we can talk about solutions.

-Maíra

This issue’s recommendations:

• (Read) The pandemic skip or how the past three years felt just like a big blur.

• (Play) Use your deduction skills and solve a daily murder mystery in Murdle.

• (Throwback) Remembering the greatest boss battle of all time, or what at least looks like it could be.