Happy Halloween!

So, we come to a time of darkness, but here the seeds are planted for a new beginning. Never like this year, this is a thought of hope. 

The number of Covid-19 cases is running here in Italy. This morning on the news they were talking about lockdown – which had been sort of a dirty word up to last week. 

I never deluded myself that a second wave was not coming, but now that it’s here, it is scarier than I thought. 

On Thursday, I was off late from work, and I had to take the bus. I normally walk to the train station, because it is still day when I’m off, but on Thursday, it was dark, and I don’t like to walk that street alone after dark.

I didn’t like it at all. 

The bus was jammed. There was no possibility of safe distancing. People just kept getting on—in groups! Everybody wore a mask, but still… 

I didn’t feel safe at all. 

So yesterday I asked my boss to organise work in a way that will allow me to be off when it’s still day, and I can walk to the station. 

It’s these little everyday things that truly give the measure of what Covid-19 is doing to us. It’s affecting our lives in a way that we don’t realise until we need to take action. But I don’t feel like looking for guilty ones, as I’ve seen people doing. Sometimes I think we want to find a culprit because we can’t handle the fact that – advanced as we like to fancy ourselves to be – Nature can still checkmate us. 

It is upsetting, but it’s also humbling. 

I hope we’ll be smart enough to learn something from this. 

But anyway. As our ancestors did, we should show respect for the darkest time of the year, so that the spring will be bright. 

And I think we can do this by following the rules and getting ready for the future. 

The Frozen Maze

Tomorrow, NaNoWriMo starts, and I mean to work at The Frozen Maze. I want to finish revising it and prepare all the material to post the story on the blog to the end, this time. 

Do I feel ready? 

Not at all. 

I never feel ready for NaNoWriMo, but this year is particularly true. I don’t feel like I’m in the right headplace – which of course is all the more reason to take part in the challenge. I need to go back to a writing routine, and I need to have a goal I want to write towards. 

Having goals is good. It gives purpose to us. And we need it in these uncertain times. 

Find a purpose that will get you through the Winter. It will feel good, I promise. 

Then head to the comment section and tell me what it is. Sharing is good, this is why I’m doing it. It makes us accountable, but also it makes us feel part of something bigger. I’m not just talking to myself. I’m making a deal with all of you. 

Progetto Tolkien

This is an Italian project, but I still like to share it with you because I’m psyched about it. 

I will be creating bibliotherapic courses centred on Tolkien. 

No, I’m not a bibliotherapist, but I’m working with one. He’s just created his own bibliotherapy academy online (the only one in Italian at the moment), and since he heard me talking about Tolkien, and he likes both what I have to say and what Tolkien has to say, he asked me to create a course with him. 

It will be on video, something I’ve never done before. Everything will be new, and I can’t wait to see it ready. 

I’ve already started writing the material. I’m experimenting with writing a script (another new thing for me), summarising Tolkien’s stories and themes – that will be the real challenge – and overall trying to get the grip of this project. 

But I’m super excited!

When we talked on a videocall last September, Marco – the bibliotherapist – told me, “Sarah, you cut your hair! You know? When a woman cuts her hair so drastically, it means she wants a change in her life.”

I suppose he’s right.

Let’s do this together!

So, on this day that celebrates the longer nights of Winter, let look into the coming darkness and try to descry the light at the end. Let’s create in the face of these troubling times. Let’s share and let’s come together. 

Community and care for each other are more important than ever now. 

Come, tell me what you’re planning for this Winter.