Happy Sunday,I walked out the front door on a Wednesday. It’s around 2pm. The sun hangs low in the sky, shining bright in the faded blue backdrop. I head straight, south, across the street, and up the hill so the sun warms my face. I need the warmth. I feel cold, anxious, restless. For no reason in particular. Rounding the hill, across the next street, I pull out my phone to jot some thoughts. For a full block, I note how I’m feeling, searching for a why. Halfway through a sentence, I stop – standing still. The phone rings silently in my hands. I’m confused. It’s a call from Mr. Daisy. As far as I know, Mr. Daisy is still in Thailand, and mid-afternoon here is the middle of the night there. I push the green button and pull the phone to my ear. “Mr. Daisy,” I say, “to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?” After 16 months away, my friend is home and he wants to see me. We talk for a minute, plotting out a plan as I walk to the end of the block. A hundred random worries melt away in the afternoon sun. Mr. Daisy is on his way. I round a corner, replacing the sun on my face with a smile. Four blocks from my front door, I feel only one thing: joy. The feeling is visceral, like a pulsing current from heart to limbs. I’m amazed by the state change. I can’t stop smiling the whole way home. It brings a Kurt Vonnegut quote to mind: “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” That nice feeling lasted all afternoon and evening. Mr. Daisy and I caught up over a treacherous ice walk down by the river, Shawarma wraps, and an intro to Othello (a Chinese board game). It was the perfect surprise to brighten up a brooding Wednesday. I hope you found some nice moments to savor this month. Sometimes, it just takes a nudge to change an entire day. That’s nice, isn’t it?
January in 3 snapshots ❄️ Activities with friends — Working from a computer has its perks, but spending most days alone isn’t one of them. I balanced my screen time with ice skating and icy walks with friends. Any time with another person in real life doing something slightly physical fills up my cup big time. 👨🏻🍳 Cooking with AI — Rather than finding recipes and hunting for ingredients, I’ve been trying something different. I share a photo of what I have with ChatGPT and ask: “what can I make?” From random stir-frys to scrumptious casseroles, the meals have turned out surprisingly good. Would recommend. ☕ Saturday morning cafes — Every Saturday this month, I visited a coffee shop to spend a few hours reading. Getting out into the world for a change of scenery and a bit of ambient buzz breaks up my work-from-home monotony. Small rituals make big differences.
3 Lessons Learned I. Winter is not the season for massive changes. It’s dark, cold, and lifeless – no colours, no morning birds, no evening bugs. The body knows winter is a time to rest – even when the mind refuses. Don’t expect too much to start the year. Wait until the birds and bugs are back before you try too hard. II. Start with the smallest possible step. I read somewhere that the hardest part of writing is sitting down. I agree. Once you sit, you’re on your way. But you need to define some stupid-simple first step to find your way. III. Real people calibrate your reality. Life today comes with an onslaught of external perspectives. News, podcasts, posts, TV, videos, it never ends. To stay grounded in the garden you can touch, you need to spend time with the people you care about. The people who keep you real.
3 fun things to watch
I’ll leave you with a quote 🤔 “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” — Denis Waitley Until next time, Scotty
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