When farmers grow the same crop too many years in a row, it can leave their soil depleted of minerals and other nutrients that are vital to the health of their fields.
To avoid this, farmers will often alternate the crops that they grow because some plants will use up different minerals (such as nitrogen) while other plants replenish those minerals. This process is known as “crop rotation.”
So the next time you find that you need to step away from a project to work on something else for a while, don’t beat yourself up for “quitting” that project. Give yourself permission to practice “mental crop rotation” to maintain a healthy brain field.
Because I’ve found that when that unnecessary guilt and pressure are removed from the process, a good mental crop rotation can help you feel more energized and invigorated than ever once you’re ready to rotate back to that project.
: A crucial part of crop rotation is that the field is let fallow sometimes. You plant what’s called a “cover crop”, which is something you don’t expect to harvest– it’s there for its roots to hold the soil in place, and often it’ll be what’s called a nitrogen-fixer, i.e. a plant that can pull nitrogen out of the air and fix it into the soil with its roots (but sometimes it won’t, sometimes it’s really just there to shelter the soil surface), and then you’ll till in that cover crop, or let the frost kill it and the stalks lie as mulch, and then you’ll rotate productive crops back into that field the next season.
It’s important, though, to understand that during the fallow period, no nutrients are removed from that ground, and nothing is expected of it. Whatever the land grows then, it keeps, and it gets tilled back in or decomposes in place, to return its energy to the earth.
We’re not allowed, in our current society, to just let our minds be fallow for a bit, to produce nothing for export, to make nothing that can be sold. But it’s part of good land stewardship, to give every field time when it doesn’t need to give you anything back.
So yes, grow and produce different things from time to time, rotate them around your mind and exercise different mental muscles, take different things from your creative processes, yes– but also, give yourself a fallow spell now and again, and let the field of your mind grow things for itself to keep, to break down and save for later.
A/N: I usually don’t write a lot as I don’t have the time to do much of this. This blog is also just a blog for everything random that pertains to my interests and not a kpop or any kpop group specific blog. I won’t be receiving requests, but feel free to continue reading! This was inspired by a conversation between me and a fellow Atiny/Monbebe friend and with the help of my Dungeon Master boyfriend, who writes stories all the time for his Pathfinder campaigns.
E A R L Y . E V E N I N G
You come back home to your apartment and find that your roommate had gone out to pick up groceries from the note that was left on the kitchen counter. You laid down your belongings gently before jumping onto the wide sleeper sofa squealing and wriggling uncontrollably.
"AHH!" You hug the closest plush next to you. It happens to be your cat, who is not thrilled and meows in a worrisome high tone. "Ohmigosh! I'm so sorry, Koi!" You let her go before grabbing an actual pillow to squeeze it tight. I can't believe it, you thought. He asked me out! My freaking crush asked me out! Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! You continue to squeeze the poor pillow, rolling around like a dog in grass gleefully. "Ah, shit," you utter under your breath. You noticed the lipstick stain and mascara smeared on the sandy colored sofa.
N I G H T T I M E
As you wash your face hurriedly before bed, you remember how he asked you out in such a cute way. It was almost too unbearable that you could have made a fool of yourself in front of your crush.
// FLASHBACK //
"Y/N!"
You whip your head around to see Seonghwa jogging towards you across the large courtyard on university campus. Maintain composure, you thought. "Hey, what's up, Seonghwa?"
He catches up to you, barely out of breath. To be expected by someone on the dance team. "Y/N, I-I I need to ask you something." He looks away. You think you might have seen a very slight pink undertone just then. You watch him fiddle with a silver engraved ring on his finger.
"Y/N, I..." he takes a deep breathe. "I-really-like-you-and-I-really-promise-to-take-care-of-you-will-you-go-out-with-me!"
Stunned, you unravel each word one by one and realizes that he likes you as well. No, wait. He just asked you out! You stood there, frozen, red in the face as Seonghwa eyes you in worry, his pink tones also becoming redder by the minute. Your scarf covers your mouth just enough to not show how much of your jaw just hit the ground. You slowly come back to reality as his eyes lowered, preparing for a rejecti —
"Yes."
His eyes snap back to look into yours. "What?"
"I said, yes, Seonghwa," you say calmly, trying with all the energy in the world to not quiver your voice with excitement.
"REALLY —" He coughs and clears his throat, changing his demeanor from an excited puppy to that of a cool cat. "I mean, really? You will?"
You nod. Eyes glued to his.
"How about tomorrow afternoon?" he proposes. "I'll take you out to a really nice place."
Again, you nod. "Yes. Let's do that."
// FLASHBACK END //
M O R N I N G
Knock knock knock knock knock.
The faint noise causes you to stir from your sleep. You feel around blindly for your phone, eventually finding it under the pillow you were just sleeping on. Your eyes adjust to the room as light leaks in through the sides of your sun blocking curtains. You squint at the phone bleary-eyed, immediately stunned by the loud light of your device. Through a sliver of what you can see, you turn the brightness down and look at your phone again.
- 9:47 AM -
"Ugh," you groaned. "I bet Sabrina forgot her damn keys again..."
Knock knock knock knock knock.
"Okay!" You shouted. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"
You looked for Sabrina's keys but it wasn't anywhere to be found, so to the door you walk, sleepily.
You lazily unlock the door. "Hey, girl, I can't seem to find your k —" You gasped.
Sabrina's usually neat long blonde locks was basically a bird's nest once you saw her, presumably from attempting to pull her hair out in stress. She storms into the apartment, mumbling to herself.
"I can't believe I walked all the way to the salon just to find I didn't even have my Goddamn keys on me," she hissed. "Again." She rummages through the sofa, with Koi running away from the steam coming from her human’s ears. She sighs exasperatingly.
"Was it not in your usual spot?" You ask, rubbing your eyes.
"No, it wasn't! You couldn't find it either?"
"No..."
You help your incredibly stressed out roommate to find the keys in her room, your room, the kitchen, and the living room. Nothing. Then, an unusual idea popped into your mind. You look at Koi. Then to her cat tree. Then back to her. She mewls innocently. You walk over to the tree, eyeing it suspiciously. You reach above, feeling around the top bed. Nothing. The two middle beds. Nothing either. Then at the bottom-most bed, all the way in the back, far beyond sight, you find the coveted silver treasure.
"I found them!" You exclaimed to Sabrina. "I found them in the cat tree!"
"Oh, thank effing goodness!" She sighs loudly in relief. She smooths her hair out while walking over to you. You drop the keys into her outstretched hand.
"Okay, leaving for real this time, Y/N." She walks to and opens the front door.
"Alright, have a good one," you say wearily, walking back towards your bedroom.
"You too. And — oh! Y/N."
You turn around.
"Have fun... with your date." She winks as she closes the door and locks it from the outside.
The date? You wondered. Oh! The DATE!
"I gotta get ready! WHAT TIME IS IT?"
- 10:23 AM -
You sigh in relief. "I have time."
"Mreoooww!" Koi meows at her disgustingly empty food bowl.
"Okay, okay, I'll feed you, Koi."
- 10:35 AM -
Knock knock knock knock knock.
The sound of unexpected knocking, again, nearly made you choke on your toothpaste. Did she forget something else this time, you thought. You walk out of the bathroom, still brushing your teeth. You open the door and —
"Good morning!"
"Good mor —?!" You stopped brushing your teeth and sees a casual yet stylish Seonghwa at the door, carrying some kind of brown paper bag. He beams at you.
You slam the door on him. He can't see me like this! OH, MY GOD, HE CAN'T SEE ME LIKE THIS! You open the door again. HE'S STILL THERE! You slam it. Then open it again. His smile still shining radiantly, with a touch of confusion. Your toothbrush falls out of your mouth. You would let it land on the floor if you didn't remember that it was an expensive electric toothbrush. "Oh, shit!" You try to catch it while it bounces from one hand to the other. When you finally got it, it happens to bounce off your hand once more and hit Seonghwa's chin, leaving a residue. He flinches a bit.
OH, GOD, NO, you internally scream. Not only is this happening right before the real date, but you're obviously not ready. Your bun is a crazy rat's nest, your over-sized off-white shirt with a pink bunny design is awkwardly resting on one side of your hip and the other, loose. Your permanently stained basketball shorts with elastic that has long since worn out reveals your yet to be shaven legs. You quickly eye him up and down before taking cover behind the door. "Damn, you didn't have to be this punctual," you mutter, looking away from him.
"Oh? I figured," he begins, looking down at the bag he is holding, "that you might want some breakfast with me?"
Breakfast? You look down at the bag as he reaches in and pulls out your favorite kind of twisted doughnut. Two of them, in fact.
"Just for you," he says shyly. You salivate at the sight of the treat you rarely get.
"But what about you?" you ask softly, looking back at him through your bangs.
"Don't worry, I've got some myself too!"
You sigh in defeat. "Well, you're already here. I'll just have let you in." You open the door slightly. Just as he was about to walk in, you stop. "But don't look at me!"
He tilts his head to the side like a puppy. Why are you looking at me like that? Stoooop! You hold your composure to keep yourself from melting and clear your throat. "Okay?" you reaffirm sternly.
He nods.
You open the entryway wider for him to enter, albeit a bit hesitantly since you are just now realizing the state of the living room. "Oh, uh," you stammer, looking at the disheveled sofa cushions. "My roommate — she couldn't find her keys so we looked for them." You laugh nervously while closing the door and locking it. You hurried over to the sofa to fix them up before offering a seat to Seonghwa. Respecting your wishes, he looks down at the floor.
"Do you mind if I eat a little of my breakfast while I wait for you to be ready?" he asks. His stomach growls a mighty one. He scratches the back of his head with embarrassment accompanied by a nervous chuckle.
You giggled. "Of course not! Please eat. I, uh -- it, uh, I'll go get ready, but it'll take a while. I-I'm sorry." Your stammering is getting the best of you as you make your way back to the bathroom. But wait.
"My toothbrush!" you gasped.
"Oh, I set it on the dining table for you," he says, pointing to the standing brush.
"Oh, thank you!" You grab it off the table, almost stopping in your tracks to ask how did he manage to catch it, but decided to push that off to the side. You walk back to the bathroom to do your morning routine.
S E O N G H W A . P O V
Sitting down on the sofa Y/N just fixed, he wiggles his silver ring off and sets it on the glass table in front of him to eat his handheld breakfast. He was starving as he got up very early to practice his choreography with his dance team. Wow, her new place looks nice, he thought. He looks at the collection of eclectic cool hues of artwork between yours and Sabrina's that tie the décor together. His wandering eyes became distracted when he felt something pressing up against his leg. He looks down.
"Oh, hi there!" he says sweetly and softly to the calico creature. Koi rubs her head into his shin aggressively. He puts his sandwich down onto the table and bends over to scratch her chin. Her purr fills the room before being drowned out by the rushing water of the shower being turned on. She snaps her head in the direction of the sound. Her eyes grow big and runs off from his hand while making a short trill. He chuckles as he motions to pick up his sandwich again from the table.
- 11:02 AM -
He balls up the wrapping paper and throws it into the empty paper bag. Y/N's twisted doughnuts were set aside on the table. He leans back on the sofa and takes out his phone from his pocket. He flips through his Engstagram feed until he realizes his finger felt odd. He looks away from his phone and thumbs the barren spot of his ring finger. He leans forward to grab the ring off the table when he notices it missing.
"Wh-whuh, what?!" He frantically whispers. He looks around the table, under, and around the sides. His eyes darts around the sofa. Did it get lost here? He feels around for the shiny cold object. He sticks his hands between the sofa cushions and felt some gross crumbs. "Eugh..." He straightens up again with a calm demeanor — just in case Y/N would come out anytime — as his own mind screams at him. How could you lose the ring, you giant idiot! The only thing you had! He scans the living area with one hand on his hip, exasperated. He sighs as he runs his fingers through his full yet luscious raven locks.
Thud.
He snaps his head over to see Koi on sitting on the woolly carpet, green orbs staring back at Seonghwa inquisitively. She slow blinks at him and busies herself by licking her paw. He plops down on the sofa, defeated, with head in his hands. He gives out a loud, long sigh as the sound of a door opening caught his attention.
Y / N . P O V
You come out of the bathroom, hair very loosely curled with light make up on. You roll up the sleeves of your sweater that has been tucked into your partially pleated skirt. You heard Seonghwa's loud sigh and was surprised to see an unusually startled look on his face.
"Eh? What's wrong?" You ask, as you walk over to chair in the dining area to secure your socks. At this point, he has seen you at your worst, so you're just slightly more relaxed in front of him.
"Ah, it's nothing!" says Seonghwa, waving his left hand dismissively with his right hand stuffed in his jacket pocket.
You notice his voice was just a tinge higher than normal. I mean, why would you notice such a thing? It's not like you listen to his voice every night.
Your mind begins to stir up stories as to why he was acting strange. Did he hurt himself? Did he steal something from you? Was he looking at indecent things on his phone? No, his phone is on the table. But... wait... is he going to propose?! You couldn't bear the thought of any of that and shake your head vigorously. No, you dumdum! Why would he do that after just asking me out yesterday? You shut your eyes tight and open them again only for them to fall on a calm but with an edge Seonghwa. They narrow at the sight of him.
"Did you..." you begin slowly, "eat my twisted doughnuts?" You smirk.
"Oh!" he exclaimed. "No! They're right here!" He picks them up and briskly walks over to hand them to you. Single-handedly. Your eyebrow raises slightly as he doesn't usually like to give gifts away with one hand, but rather with both hands. Something is indeed amiss. You take the treat out of his hand slowly and decide to yourself that you will do some observational investigation. You look up at him, giving him a thankful smile. His eyes lit up when he sees your face up close and unguarded for the first time today. He blushes and smiles to himself as his eyes fell to the floor, out of shyness.
You sit down in the chair you used earlier to balance yourself while adjusting your socks. The familiar crinkling sound of the wax paper from your favorite bakery makes its way to your ears and instantly, you're hit with nostalgia. You bring up the cinnamon sugar delight to your mouth and take a bite, savoring the taste, with eyes closed. It's been years since you were able to have one of these again. You weren't able to go to the bakery anymore since you moved closer to your university and it was on the other side of the river near your parents' house. Unfortunately, the only transportation you have is your bike.
Your memory lane train derailed when you heard a soft chuckle. You open one eye to look at him. Your cheeks were ballooned with food since you didn't realize you practically inhaled the whole thing.
"Hmmf? Ith thumthing hwunny?" you ask, with mock annoyance.
"You look so cute with your cheeks like that," he points, smiling. "You're like a chipmunk!"
You cross your arms and pout while chewing slowly and carefully. He giggles again and pokes your cheek gently.
"Hmph!" You turned slightly away from him, eyes closed with nose in the air. You continue chewing and swallowing little by little. You covertly open your eye closest to him and see him trying to scan around your living area. He's looking for something. But what? You decided to use the process of elimination.
"Seonghwa," you say flatly.
He snaps his head back to you. Smiling, he replies, "Yes?"
"Are you looking to steal from me?"
"What?!"
"You've been acting strange since I've come out all ready and stuff."
He pauses for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before his eyes meet yours. The lengthy eye contact seems to stretch on for an eternity, growing more and more intense as he brings his face closer to yours. You feel the heat rush in your face along with a tinge of embarrassment since your chipmunk cheeks aren't completely gone yet.
"Yes, I've come to steal from you."
"What the f —!"
"I've come to steal your most precious treasure."
You look at him, befuddled.
"Your..." he points at your chest, whispering, "Heart."
You blankly stare at him. The eternal eye contact returns once again in awkward silence, until he threw his head back in laughter. The look of annoyance spreads across your face as you finally chew and swallow the last bit of doughnut left. You facepalm — while avoiding your eye make up — and stretch your eyes downward as you drag your hand in disgust.
"Ugh!" you groaned. "What the hell was that?!"
Seonghwa continues to laugh heartily. You see him clutching his stomach and leaning so far back in his chair, you almost didn't notice him about to tip over backwards. You frantically get up from your seat and scurry over to him, but it was too late. As he falls, his center of gravity was too low for you to have enough leverage, thus you falling along with him. Your arm is stuck between the floor and his back.
"Are you okay?!" You look down at him only to realize how close his face was to yours once again. Actually, even closer. He looks up at you with a soft gaze that could melt your all worries away. The apartment around you fades and all you see is the two of you. He lifts his arm up next to your head and gently tucks your soft locks behind your ear. His gaze lowers to your lips, then back to your eyes again. You're lost in the world that which his eyes held, slowly leaning in closer to —
"OOF!" A creature has landed on your back and pushed herself off to jump onto the table, which causes you to fall sideways onto the cold tile floor. You turn around to see Koi casually sniffing the wrap the uneaten doughnut is in, turning her head to look at you, slow blinks, then walks away, with tail high in the air. You roll onto your back, feeling a little dizzy, but somewhat defeated.
"You alright?" Seonghwa asks softly next to you.
"Y-yeah... I'm okay." You turn your face away from him to hide your red cheeks when you see something glinting in the shadow at the base of the cat tree. You tilt your head against the hard floor. Ow, that was a bad idea. You rub the slightly sore spot with your free hand. You gently tug your arm underneath Seonghwa and feel the weight being lift off your almost numb limb as you pull away. You get up carefully due to your skirt and walk over to the cat tree. You kneel down in front of it and feel inside the bottom-most bed. A slick yet cold texture grazed your skin. You went over the same area to feel it again and curl your fingers around it to pull it out. You open your hand and wondered, how did this get here? Seonghwa looks at your hand holding the ring and gasps. "It was there?! It was in there?! How—why—"
"Koi is like a magpie," you say while inspecting and cleaning the ring, "she likes to steal shiny things, particularly silver looking items."
You get up from the kneeling position you were in and walk over to him. With the ring in between your index finger and thumb, you place into the palm of his outstretched hand.
"Honestly," you chuckled, "I'm surprised you haven't managed to lose this in a year or so."
"It was..."He blushes. "It's because I've liked you for such a long time and this was the first and only gift you had given me."
"Oh!" You feel your cheeks heat up. "Well, I had given you other gifts too since then!" you pout.
He laughs as you walk over to the entry way to put on your chunky sole shoes. "Yes, but this is the only thing that isn't edible."
"Ha, well, you were practicing so hard, you needed to eat 24/7!" You finished tying up the laces on your shoes. You get up and grab your mini backpack off the sofa, along with your keys. "Let's go."
"Wait!"
You halt and turn to look at him. "Did you lose something else too?" you mused.
He slowly walks over to you and holds your shoulders. He scans over you and stops at your eyes, holding your gaze long enough that your cheeks begin to feel hot again. You’ve been blushing a lot today.
"I've always wanted to say," he begins softly. He leans in to your ear. "You look so beautiful."
Your whole being starts to feel like it's melting upon hearing those sincere words. Even after a couple of years of knowing him, hearing it like this from him, it felt like utopia.
"H-h-haaa, um, look, I swear if it's one of your cringy jokes again," you protest to protect yourself from completely dying. "C'mon, let's go!" You lock arms with him and drag him out of the apartment.
B O N U S × K O I . P O V
Sitting on top of the cat tree, she watches Y/N and that strange man leave, locking the door behind them. She hops down to the floor and makes her way into the kitchen. On her way, she finds a silver hair clip left behind on the floor where her human was just laying. She picks it up by the mouth and continues on. She jumps up on the kitchen counter and to the top of the fridge. She lays her newly acquired precious silver on a small mound of other miscellaneous silver objects. She trills in satisfaction.
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