Is Your Life Moving Ayewards Or Naywards?

There are books I re-read for comfort. 

All are written with a satirical eye, with strong female characters who chafe at societal constraints. One of my favorites is Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones, an award-winning fantasy writer. The book sets Earth in the middle of a figure 8 shaped universe, with one end being “ayewards” and the other “naywards.”

Ayewards worlds are magical. Naywards worlds are concrete.

Ayewards worlds are filled with creatures like Centaurs, and other weird trippy things. Naywards worlds are boring, rigid and unkind. Navigating the two extremes are Magids — bureaucrats/judges/fixers who can travel between the worlds.

I am not doing Deep Secret justice. Read it. You’ll thank me later.

The point is, I often think about ayewards and naywards in life. 

I try to bring more magic and joy, and reduce negativity and closed mindedness in my life. But how to know when I’m drifting naywards?

I foster wonder and awe, by seeking beauty in nature or in the mundane. If nothing catches my eye enough to photograph it, I know I’m drifting naywards.

How I do the NY Times spelling bee puzzle is a tell. I’m heading naywards when my mind acts like a safe cracker trying different letter combinations. When words simply float up like a Magic 8 Ball, I know I’m going in the right direction, 

If I don’t have patience or time for art, I am tilting further naywards. The antidote? Let myself be bewitched by poetry, art, or a favorite book. 

If I didn’t approach an encounter with curiosity, assuming positive intention, then I know I have to regroup. It’s time to play a game, dance, or expand my  mind — breathwork, meditation, hypnosis.

What do you do to nudge your world ayewards? Tell me.

Photo credit: Deva Darshan on Unsplash