Over the weekend, I heard two different people at two different locations use the phrase “OOH LA LA!” in real-time. Really! My heart swelled, and it felt like a little wink from the universe.
Like most projects I’ve started, sometimes I wonder about the validity of all this, about writing about pleasure when there is so much pain in the world. And then a gentle cosmic nudge, like the one this weekend, reminds me that pleasure IS the whole point.
For as long as humans have existed, we have not survived out of spite, or fear, or sheer determination. We live for pleasure, and pleasure is what sustains us, and what helps us imagine a new world. What saves us is feeling the sunlight on skin, the first bite of a juicy, ripe plum, a tender touch, and the bliss of a cold water swim.
In between everything, I’ve been thinking of Rafah non-stop. I read that when Palestinians are arrested, they smile, as a form of protest, to show their strength, to show that their joy has not been squandered. What power! I am reminded of the poem by Professor Refaat Alareer who wrote the infamous words, “if I must die, you must live.” (You can read the whole poem here).
I want the world to be a place where all beings get to live and love and have pleasure and joy. For today, I stay devoted to this practice and remind myself (and you) that joy is revolutionary enough! We must live!
This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: spicy honey, dappled shadows of trees on the sidewalk, listening in on a stranger’s phone conversation while working at a cafe.
I’m a condiment girl through and through and will not say no to trying something new, which makes me Trader Joe’s ideal target audience. My newest condiment obsession is spicy honey, which, as you may have guessed, adds a bit of spice and sweetness to any dish. I like it a bit more because it feels like a paradox, like a poem, two opposites existing in one space together. How delicious!
These days the late spring sun shines high and I cannot describe the delight I feel from seeing the dappled shadows of trees on the sidewalk! The soft filtering of the sun through the layers of leaves blowing in the wind makes a dancing picture right at my feet. If ever there was an image to describe the nostalgia of time and the sweetness of sadness, it would be this. I’ve never seen a more beautiful shadow.
Call it ADHD if you must, but I think it’s lovely when I’m working on one thing and also listening in on a stranger’s phone conversation while working at a cafe…while also listening to my playlist in my earbud, while also listening to my thoughts. Something about the symphony of sounds makes me feel more awake. Something about the simplicity of hearing another human talk about being human makes me feel more alive. She is talking loud, but I only hear maybe 70% of her sentences, and I wonder who she is talking to. I wonder what heartbreak she holds, and what joy she clings to. I wonder what it would mean to be so curious about each other.
Thanks for reading!
I’d love to know - what is an OOH LA LA! something you experienced or observed this week?
Reply to this email with 1-3 sentences about your current obsessions, passions, joys, and pleasures and why you love it! Or, send me a poem or a photo!
I am sending you love.
XOXO,
LJ
Shadows are not a reflection. Have you ever thought about that?