OOH LA LA! #18

You reading this is a miracle, and other brain science stuff!

Let’s talk about mirror neurons!

I am not a brain scientist, but from what I’ve read this week, I can tell you that mirror neurons are brain cells that activate both when we perform an action (or feel a feeling) AND when we observe it.

I will repeat this for effect, because WHOA.

Your brain fires certain groups of neurons whether you are doing a thing, or watching a thing being done, even if you are not doing it!

Recent research on this topic is centered on the study of empathy, the thesis being that mirror neurons are responsible for the urge we feel to cry when we witness someone experiencing sadness, or laugh when we hear other people laughing.

Reading this, I remember how deeply we are interconnected, even down to the neurobiological level, and how impactful our moods and emotions and beliefs can be, not just for ourselves, but for our communities.

Which means - and I do not say this lightly- this practice, this devotion to OOH LA LA!, to cultivating pleasure and intentionally pursuing joy - it’s actually changing everything. Your brain, my brain, everyone’s brain.

WHOA.

This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: language learning app, spontaneously running into a friend, baseball game on the radio.

I’m really into learning French right now thanks to a free language learning app from the New York Public Library. I’m moving slowly through the curriculum, studying in the small waiting moments of my days, practicing new words out loud on my walk home, and dreaming of a European holiday. I like the feeling of accomplishment (read: dopamine) I get from engaging with new vocabulary, and it’s a thrill to connect myself to a world larger than my own. My cat greets me at the door and I say “bonjour, mon bébé!” In my mind, she replies, “je t'aime!” I think, we will do just fine in Paris.

Spontaneously running into a friend when you weren’t planning to see them is a special kind of sunshine. In New York City, it’s happened to me a handful of times, and is always a sweet surprise. I can’t help but consider the synchronicities that must align, how each choice in each moment determines the unfolding events, and out of all possibilities that exist, you find a friend. What magic, really, to meet anyone at all. You here, reading this, is a miracle, and I’m so glad our paths have crossed!

On Wednesday, after a barre class, I was putting on my shoes in the lobby of the studio when I heard a baseball game on the radio. I wasn’t near enough to the radio to hear what was happening, but I knew for certain it was a baseball game from the muffled sound of the speaker mixed with the quick cadence of the announcer and the ever so subtle ping of the baseball bat followed by the hum of the crowd cheering. In that moment, and only for a brief second, I am 12 years old again, slumped in the back of my family’s van in the parking lot of Handles Ice Cream in North Canton, Ohio. It is one of those July nights where even at dusk, the air is heavy. My older brother in seated seat in front of me, my sisters beside me, all of us silently eating ice cream, daydreaming while tuning in and out to the baseball game our dad had playing on the radio. Funny how a single sound can do that, funny how we can so quickly remember and forget.

From OLL Readers…

Renee: I was driving to buy flowers after I learned about this local floral shop near me. After my purchase of red, purple, and white petunias, I headed back with the windows down and the warm breeze flowing through the car. The soundtrack to La La Land filled the vehicle, and I looked over in the passenger seat at this dainty, small brown paper box of flowers, who seemed to smile back at me as I drove. They are now in their new home, in the planters on my front porch, so they can smile at my neighbors.

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, simply send me a poem or a photo!

XOXO,

LJ

P.S. I read and reply to every email and I absolutely LOVE hearing from you. Thanks for being here!

“Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.”

- Carl Jung