Vox Meditantis

Do lazy days restore or deplete? With an inheritance of industriousness, I’m learning that rest isn’t earned through productivity – it’s a different kind of work entirely, one that requires trusting that our worth doesn’t depend on constant contribution.

When asked who embodies success, Catherine thinks first of her graduate supervisor – not famous or wealthy, but profoundly present across forty years of teaching. A reflection on influence that never announces itself, on choosing depth over recognition, and the unglamorous courage of simply showing up.

Reflecting on what makes a good neighbour, Catherine considers the quiet disciplines of attention, the circulation of small kindnesses, and the courage required to show up consistently across years – finding that rootedness benefits both the neighbourhood and the solitary self sustained within it.

At fifty-eight, Catherine considers what she might try for the first time – watercolour classes, solo travel, romantic possibility – and discovers that her mother’s adventurous spirit offers an unexpected inheritance: permission to be gloriously uncertain.