 Boxing Day. December 26th. Celebrated in the UK. For most people it means a day to hang out with family, eat leftovers and enjoy gifts given and received. But historically, it was also a day to give "Christmas Boxes" to the servants, who would go home and celebrate Christmas with their own families after having cared for you on the 25th.  Or, perhaps the term 'Boxing Day' comes from the nautical tradition whereby great sailing ships carried a sealed box of money for good luck which, upon return, would be given to a priest who would distribute the money to those in need on the day after Christmas.  Here in New England, we get back to work - - there is no "Bank Holiday" for us. But over the past decade, I have created my own "Boxing Day" tradition.
Photographs that are labels on Christmas Day, or beautiful holiday cards become decorations on a box the next. And all that wrapping paper gets a longer life, glued to a sneaker box or packing box and used year after year.
It started with a desire to save paper and reduce holiday waste. But over time, it became something more - - A kind of compulsion to fix what I had using materials at hand - not just cards and paper, but fabric as well.
One year, I redid our recycling container. The next, I created boxes to use for grocery shopping. They were so admired at our food co-op, I made some as gifts for the clerks. Apparently one of the boxes is now the bed for a very happy cat.
What makes me happiest, is that my son and daughter love to find their custom gift boxes under the tree. No need for labels. And certainly no need for new wrapping paper. It's become a tradition - -  Our very own Boxing Day. To me, that's what makes our current time so inspiring. There are opportunities for the creative re-making of the world as we know it. As I discovered with a bunch of cards, paper and fabric, beauty is everywhere. What might you create or discover this last week of 2018? 
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Why is this blog called By Degrees? Because...   Change happens in increments...until it doesn't;   We need to look at the world from many angles;  More people experience damage to their tissue because of the sun's increased power;  There are many educated people with lots of diplomas, yet we still can't get along or figure out how to solve our current climate crisis;  There is a difference between 2 and 1.5 degrees celsius.  Maybe it's time to literally 'reframe' the narrative.  Why not have a proverbial 'do-over' and see what emerges?  By Degrees. We have degrees. We are separated by just a few degrees. We can have a 10 degree perspective or a 360 degree perspective. We feel the heat.  It's time to look within and recompose our shared story.  By Degrees.
Because change happens in logical steps and stages... until it doesn't. |
Evelyn R. Swett celebrates
the convergence of creativity and climate action to inspire joy and new ways of being. 
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**Let's ReFrame is a weekly newsletter that hopefully inspires joy & new ways of being.
It will include links to recent blog posts, updates about my work, and, best of all, inspirational action prompts
for you to explore your creativity and passion for the world you love.
It will include links to recent blog posts, updates about my work, and, best of all, inspirational action prompts
for you to explore your creativity and passion for the world you love.