One Day : Anna Westin - Singer songwriter
Location : Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
Profession / passion : Singer-songwriter / Philosopher
Website : annamusic.space / annalouisewestin.com
Instagram : @anna.music / @annalouisewestin
One Day is an ongoing project sparked by the Covid-19. In the days of isolation we would like to focus on what we do best; bringing people together. Read more about the project here.
We will be posting one new day of someones life every day until we run out of contributors. See our instagram stories to experience these peoples One Day in action.
A text, song or film that everyone should experience.
‘Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced’. – Søren Kierkegaard
What is the story behind your profession/ passion?
I think it started as a kid. I was always reading and writing and wandering around the woods, wondering about things.
How do you want people to react to your work/passion?
I want them to uncover a wild space of belonging – a sort of, yes, I am known here. It’s ok.
If you work with a partner, when and how did you meet?
Most recently I have been working with the musicians Ellie Mason and Immie Stokes from the band Wovoka Gentle - they are the producers of my new album LEV, and we met through mutual friends. Their insights are so original, and they are such experts in what they do, while having fun with it. It’s a real joy to work with them. I knew that Immie had studied poetry, and we used to hang out and exchange poems - a really great way to start a friendship.
How as the current situation affected how you work?
I am working on a children’s book, and have an academic book contract to finish, as well as edits on the album. So for me, I feel very fortunate, as most of it can all be done from home. I miss people though! My boyfriend (who is in the UK) and I try to start the day with Pilates over Skype, which is fun. I think it’s also given a sense of compassion for people, a space to pause, and reflect on how we connect with others more intentionally, with love.
What is the most inspiring text you read recently?
I have really enjoyed Mary Oliver’s short essays, Upstream. They are nourishing, gentle and have that way of carrying you on a cool woodland stream, leaving you all refreshed, and somehow in a slightly different place.
Your greatest achievement?
I think, recently, my greatest achievement has been learning how to communicate love. Does that make sense? I don’t know that it does, written on paper.
Define what beauty means to you.
Gosh, beauty for me is – fullness of life, I think – somehow expressing a fullness of life-joy.
Describe a smell that brings back memories to you.
I was back at my grandparents’ last week when my grandma passed away, and remembered how much I love the smell of their basement. There is a musky scent that brings back orange carpets, cardboard boxes of old cameras and the dusty scent of the woodshed that I remember as a kid.
Your best trait.
My joy.
What traits do you treasure in other people?
I treasure kindness – the ability to stop for small things, and value things that might seem insignificant.
What was the most defining moment of your life?
There have been many. Recently it was surfing in California and being pretty terrified by the big waves, and having to really trust my instructor! Something about trusting someone other than myself felt important.
How was your spiritual and religious upbringing, and how did it shape you?
I grew up knowing Jesus, but moved between Sweden and North America, so had quite a varied experience of what being a friend of Jesus meant. More recently, I’ve also been studying and teaching Jewish philosophy and mysticism, and find the lifejoy and wonder in these expressions resonate with me. I love chatting to people about their spirituality, and particularly aspects of First Nations tradition, in their connection to Mother Earth. There’s a lot there I think I could learn from.
When was the last time you learned something new and what was it?
I am learning Hebrew, so I think that’s new? And some chords on the guitar. Both of them are taking their sweet time…
Have you actively chosen to live in the city/town you live in?
I don’t think that it was an active decision to return to Canada – more a circumstance of visas expiring and my parents moving. But we are at the edge of the woods, and right now, it’s a really peaceful place to be.
If you were forced to sit still for one month straight…?
Haha, great question! I think I’d practice doing different accents. Maybe see how long I can hold my breath too. That could come in handy.
Live in the same house or move to a different country every month…?
Live in the same house. I’ve been travelling for the last year, so staying home would be very dreamy.
What does freedom mean to you?
Freedom means the ability to pursue the fullness of life.
Do you have any regrets in life?
Regrets – maybe not swimming more when I lived by the sea. Holding resentment for too long.
Do you identify yourself with any historical figure?
Historical figures – I mean, I’d like to! I really love Denise Levertov. I like it when women are writing, and how she does a kind of soul work that engages politics, spirituality, beauty and relationship all on the page.
Should calm come from within or be facilitated by the environment?
I think, realistically, both. But inward calm can change the outward – and it’s what we have control over.
Marcel Proust said nothing exists within itself. Are we brought to life by way of contrast?
There is definitely a sense in which we become more alive through contrast – maybe it’s like, uncovering a side of ourselves that we didn’t know existed, or growing. Contrasts are good growing conditions.
Lastly, how do you wish to see this current situation have a positive impact on our lives?
Having it as a time for reconnecting with meaningful relationships.