Saving the best for now
the sacredness of an ordinary Tuesday, and a poem by XEAH
Kicked back on lawn chairs on an uncharacteristically brisk U.K. August night, cigar smoke curled in the air and conversation danced between playful and profound over a beautiful bottle of Grenache. It was a lingering evening under string lights in the garden, complete with a spread so abundant, time slowed down just to graze through it all. Then the whiskey. A sampling: the ten, the fifteen, the twenty-year-old whiskey.
“Bringing out the birthday bottles? What an honor,” I said, feeling almost guilty for such indulgences (but obviously not guilty enough to not partake).
“Today is a special occasion,” my friend remarked without hesitation. The clink of pouring whiskey into tumblers with precision.
But it wasn’t — it was an ordinary Tuesday, like any other. A regular weeknight, one friend putting his kids to bed and the other had just gotten back from weekend travel. No meanings for celebration. But it was a Tuesday made sacred by holy conversation, punctuated by cigars, laughter, and volleying musings.
When we save our best bottles, our grandmother’s china, our most heartfelt, vulnerable words, for a “special occasion,” we rob the present of its wealth. While I’ve always believed this to be true, it caught me by surprise to be on the receiving end of this shared ethos of generosity.
Saving the best for now.
Hospitality resists the economy of frugality. It’s a display of telling someone they’re worthy of setting aside your time and sharing this moment with.
My friend XEAH recently shared this poem with me, and I knew it was time to dust this idea off and take it out of the drafts. Please enjoy.
much love,
Rachel
Time is Money
by XEAH, Substack: The Feminist Nun
when it comes to time,
the thief is the altruist
stealing the moment
robbing the minutes
burgling laughter
looting the limits
time is the cheapest
most expensive
commodity
nobody owns
money starts poor
and grows rich by saving
time starts rich
and grows richer by spending
time’s only bank account
is the past—once deposited
cannot be accessed
so there’s no use in saving
“this for tomorrow”
“that for later”
nowness is priceless
today is what matters
if time is a mall
abandoned
in the apocalypse
why not spend today
shoplifting your bliss?
The Feminist Nun is the creation of multimedia poet and artist XEAH—a project devoted to transforming art into prayer and chastity into power. Part brand, part philosophy, her work negotiates the tension between feminism, eroticism, faith, and digital identity. Through an immersive performance form that fuses poetry, film, and music, she creates visceral literary experiences that ground the viewer in the eternal.
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