I’ve been thinking a bit about structures that are cyclical.
If I can ignore the cliché and neatness of when it all ends where it began, and not at all that you are trapped in an endless loop, I like that there is the possibility for it to continue.
I’m aware that I have a soft spot for the episodic, less linear, rearranging elements, series of, sequences where there is flexibility…
I wonder if sometimes too much emphasis is placed on order? I also sometimes think ordering and structuring holds the most weight.
Last year I read Ali Smith’s How to be Both – a novel with two sections that has been published in both orders. The concept of which fascinated me; it definitely made me want to read it twice.
This year the closest to a resolution that I have is an aim to reread more books.
We all know some things that January often facilitates: A new diary or calendar (that your brother gets you every year for Christmas…) Self-reflection and resolutions; leaving behind what you don’t need, recalculating what you want from your daily life A surge in productivity sparked by the opportunity for a ‘new start’
Aligning with changes in seasons too, there are other moments in the year that trigger similar restarts, like spring cleaning, or heading back to school or study in September.
I’m unsure whether these cycles are relentless or comforting. I imagine for most they are both.
Perhaps personally it is the concept of eternally orbiting which feels trapping. Whereas the lived experience of that, the seasons and all its consequences is comforting in its familiarity. The days will get longer and then shorter and then longer again.
Dividing time and reattempting; it is there with days of the week also – I always find it easier to start on a Monday.
Is there a difference between restarting & continuing?
The prefix re = again
Comments