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Hi there, it's Major.

Today we're reaching into the archives to bring you an episode from Ada Limon's time as host.

I'm thrilled to revisit one of her episodes with you.

And don't worry, the team is hard at work on a relaunch with a new host.

I'm Ada Lameone, and this is The Slowdown.

I spend a lot of time alone during the days, though the dog would like to assure you I'm not alone,

and the cat sleeping in the upstairs bathroom would also beg to differ.

Still, many of my days are spent in my office or on the back porch or at the kitchen table alone with my thoughts.

I am comfortable alone. I am not lonely. But sometimes I do find that I've been talking to myself or writing letters in my head or suddenly unsure of who it is I'm speaking to in my own

mind. Just yesterday, I was getting ready to complete a creative project and found myself getting

anxious and said out loud, don't spiral. And I smiled, delighted in knowing that I was treating myself like one of my beloved animals.

Sit, high five, don't spiral.

What I like most about being alone is that it comes with its own strange music.

Today's poem, even though it is in the form of a letter,

feels like a tribute to that rich music of aloneness,

the sense of the brain moving fast to make bright unusual connections

and then slowing down again to breathe it feels like a secret note

...