MAKE IT MAKE SENSE: a word that might just change your life
and what fuelled writing the book in the first place
Hi crushes! Bel here - it’s still just you and me while Luce is off in her Canadian cottagecore holiday of dreams, to which she told me she’s nearly healed, and when she is, it’s over for you bitches. I have been laughing about that for about a week straight.
I’ve been busy catching lots of trains, trying to SHE-EO the work side of my life and listening to brat on repeat like any other rat girl / boy / person in this universe who just wants to sling a pair of wraparound sunnies on and be done with it all for a sec.
This week, I’m letting you in on a word that changed my life, and then subsequently Lucy’s, because I wouldn’t stop saying it, and now, well, we’re gifting it to you!
It’s a type of near religion we swear by, talk about all the time, and if you want to know more, well, you know what to do:
REWENGE: The word that might just change your life
This newsy is dedicated to my friends Vee and Eliza, who first introduced me to this word when they picked me up off my tent floor and hauled me into the sea one heartbroken summer, saying, ‘We’re going to give you the best season of your life - because that is rewenge, and that is what you deserve.’
Lol sounds like revenge - what is it?
After my friends introduced me to the word, I couldn’t stop thinking it. I scribbled REWENGE on a piece of paper and stuck it to my fridge. I woke up every morning in heartbroken hell (getting A LOT of mileage out of that thing that happened years ago - rewenge), wondering how I could get it. I’d be walking to work and see a patch of sun coming out of the sky and convince myself I could … feel it.
From that moment on, anything remotely good that happened became rewenge.
A park right outside? Rewenge
Clean, matching pair of socks? Rewenge
No stressful emails today? Rewenge
Money left over after payday? Rewenge
Nice sea swim and a spritz after work? Rewenge
Laughing at a joke? Rewenge
Took a nice photo? Rewenge
Slept well? Rewenge
Cute outfit that didn’t expire at 3pm? Rewenge
Having the energy to go out on a Friday night? Rewenge
DM from a crush? Rewenge
Not feeling anxious? Rewenge
Leaving work on time? Rewenge
On and on it went — this way to recognise the smallest, good things that happened to me as tiny bits of proof that, despite the shitty things, life was on my side and I deserved to experience joy.
You can buy a gratitude journal and write it all down. You can wake up and meditate and breathe in the good vibes of the universe. And then, you can turn everything that’s remotely ok when nothing feels like it is, into something good.
Am I sounding evangelical? I hope not. It’s meant to be really funny and helpful and it’s hard to convey the exact right conversational tone of this to you over email, but I feel like we know each other well enough now for you to get it.
Rewenge began to fuel my love for life again and became this moving, positive energy for me to live off after everything burned down and I put it back together (and we all know that’s how we phoenix).
Some questions you may be asking:
How is rewenge different from revenge?
If revenge is the act of hurting or harming someone in reaction to their behaviour, rewenge is it’s positive alternative. It’s small good things that happen to you that make your life good.
Why is this going to change my life?
This is your word for when anything bad has happened to you, and you need to believe in the magic of the world again.
Because bad things will inevitably happen out of our control. People will mess up, whether they intended on it or not. Accidents will happen. Mistakes will be made. What you wished for might not turn out that way. And just when you think you’ve got it all going well, something might disappoint you.
Not to be emo, but to be true. And sometimes when the world’s on fire and you’re listening to Dido’s White Flag in the instant coffee aisle in a simple soft pant and sandal, you just need a word to name the ghost and turn things around and I truly believe rewenge is it:
Something to think about in the moments where you’re not so sure.
Love u
xox
PS! Where to pre-order your copy of Make It Make Sense in NZ!
The angels at Bookety Book Books are a gorge independent bookstore in Aotearoa we love supporting, and if you’d like to do the same, you can hoon over there through the button below and pre-order so it arrives at your door in September <3
If you're a Peep Show watcher I'm about to blow your mind because I have a Peep Show quote I use specifically to describe your newsletter. 'It's not good news, it's good news!', also do you feel like you discovered Olivia Coleman? Rewenge is everything. Love this.
The fact that it's pronounced as 'Re-wen-gay' has sold it for me. I can also see how imbuing Rewenge into our lives is tricking us into being more mindful about the little things. Definitely sold.