CELSO TEMBE

Tapping the edge of a carved basalt chime with the small wooden mallet just to check its pitch. In a room with plaster and higher ceilings, the sound doesn't absorb as quickly as it did back in the basement flat; the note holds, ringing clean and dry for several seconds before falling off. It’s strange how much the volume of empty air changes the weight of a strike. A satisfying frequency to leave in the dark before turning in.

Journal · 8 oct. 2026

Caught myself standing by the window with a length of dark basting thread wrapped three times around my pinky finger, pulled tight enough to turn the nail bed pale. It’s a mindless reflex that happens whenever I’m turning an idea over—suddenly the hand wants resistance, and then I’m hunting across the sill for snips with one hand. Cut it loose, shook out the knuckle, and had to laugh at how persistent the habit is. Always testing tension, even when there’s nothing to measure.

Journal · 7 oct. 2026

Stepping onto the bare parquet barefoot. The floor here lacks the biting chill I grew accustomed to on northern timber, but thirty minutes of breathwork still demands the exact same alignment. Arches pressed flat into the wood, collarbones wide, drawing each breath low until the ribs expand evenly without catching in the lower back. When the body finds its level, you don't have to force stillness—it simply settles in.

Journal · 6 oct. 2026