Slow down | Day 95 of my 2023 Journal

Our third day in Rome was dedicated to work.

Work could (and should) be understood as anything we do in order to make a change. Any effort to move pieces, organize, change, grow, improve, understand, and care for.

Work is when we engage and take part. But the concept has become hollow, focused only on the monetary outcome.

This is part of the suppression of women, of artists, and of freedom.

When work became measurable by money and with the invention of the concept of BNP, the understanding of value changed and we lost the awe of the very important work done by especially women.

There is no common good without breastfeeding, without cooking, without someone to nurse the sick, someone to make the homes, someone to compose the music and write the books. Without this, we will all be insane.

The epidemic of childhood mental diagnoses and adult stress reactions is no coincidence. It is the result of a backward value system and of ripping apart everything that is important to hold together.

Why do we confuse the value of work with the amount of money someone is willing to pay for it?

The value of a meal cooked with love and served to someone old and sick is unmeasurable.

Let me be clear. A day for work, to me, is a day to engage with the element of my life that is not directly connected to my children and my personal life. To lift above and write the stories, cookbooks, and blog posts. Some of it, but only a tiny bit, makes me money. Most of it is just me responding to a call from my existence, a call to action, an urge to do something about the wrongs in the world.

We try to carve out a day or two a week for this kind of engagement. But there is so much life to live, it can sometimes be hard to stand our ground. On this particular workday, I went for firstly a walk with one child, then a walk with another child. Good conversations arise from these walks and are more important than most. I cooked lunch and made sure everyone was happy before I sat down in the afternoon to work on the blog, the podcast, and the coaching.

Love and light

Cecilie Conrad

# 95 of my 2023 writing challenge - Read them all here