Rest, my friends
The end of the year is here. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the trees have grown spindly and the darkness promises us ghosts. Steady strings of angular birds flock to warmer climates, guided by sunsets and chimney smoke. In our hearts, we know it is a time of rest, of reset, and of reserves.
And yet the bright lights of life insist on bearing down on us. “No rest for the wicked”, they sing in drunken caroling voices - no, winter is a time to be jolly, over-indulge, and exploit the sales season. We have made it this far, to the edge of the year, and we should delight and celebrate and take advantage of Free Delivery!
There is something of a conflict here. You know it, you can feel it in the back of your heart. Welcome to Unsubscribe 2021.
Unsubscribe 2021 does not promise the overthrow of victorian-capitalist festivities. You must find your own way for that.
Unsubscribe 2021 is merely an informational reset, a group ritual that intends to take back some of the time and headspace that nature’s cycles promises us.
(And yes, there’s a slight irony of setting up a newsletter to unsubscribe from newsletters…)
Basic principles
The Unsubscribe 2021 list will be a limited period thing, and you don’t need to sign up - I’ll use it for sending out irregular updates, further announcements, and the final photo of my burned list. Then the newsletter and all subscriber info will be deleted in January. Nobody needs more emails in 2022.
Here’s how it works:
Choose a date to start - now, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, whatever works for you.
Up until the end of Wednesday 5th January, unsubscribe from all emails you can unsubscribe from (not those you legally or definitively need to stay subscribed to, of course). Even if you want to re-subscribe later.
Make a note of any emails you want to re-subscribe to later on. (Move the email into a new folder if this helps.)
Make a note of any emails you unsubscribed from - one line in a text file is enough. Delete these emails.
After the 5th of January, re-subscribe to those lists you still definitely want.
Ceremoniously delete/burn the list of emails you unsubscribed from, to mark the start of a fresh, new year. Bonus points for flamboyant or minimalist rituals that make you feel extra winter magic.
Alternatively, send your list in to me, and I’ll collate everything into one larger list, burn that, and send a final photo to the list before deleting this list and all its subscribers.
For any questions, comments, ideas, etc…
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