OOH LA LA! #29

The lesson is never say no to the ocean, or pink-frosted cake

Sometimes a line from a song or a book makes its way to the front of my mind. This week, it is words from Anne Lamott’s book “Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers.” I haven’t read this book in years, but when a nudge makes itself known in my mind, I pay attention.

I have had a complicated relationship with the idea and practice of prayer, but reading words by writers like Anne Lamott has helped me have a more expanded understanding of everything. These days I resonate with her definition of prayer as “our real selves trying to communicate with the Real, with Truth, with the Light.” She says, “Anything you do with your whole heart is prayer,” and I feel myself exhale remembering these words.

If this is true, and I think it is, prayer is this practice of writing weekly to you, prayer is dancing, prayer is reading poetry, prayer is stir-frying peppers, prayer is stopping to see the sunflowers, prayer is a long hug, prayer is laying in the grass, prayer is eating a nice, cold bowl of peanut butter honeycomb ice cream.

From this perspective, I remember that prayer, like the practice of OOH LA LA! is really about paying attention, about being wholeheartedly open to life and the experiences of each day.

As Anne has said, “gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble….Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.”

Here’s to being open to it all.

This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: spontaneous visit to the beach, dessert first, watching people watching the rain.

Without a doubt, my body feels better when it is in a body of water. I remembered this fact while unenthusiastically replying to emails and checking items off my to-do list one morning this week. I had the idea to get myself to the ocean and knew I’d feel relief. “But you have work to do,” I heard myself say, and I replied, “There is always work to do.” Within an hour, I was at the beach, lying alone on my blanket, reading Natalie Goldberg and watching the seagulls stretch their wings in the sun. I walked to the shoreline and let the cold water wash over my feet. I waded slowly into the waves, holding my breath as I lowered my hips, then shoulders, then head into the Atlantic, and laughed and laughed for the peace I finally found this morning.

One of the best benefits of being an independent adult is eating dessert first. I don’t know exactly what I thought of adulthood as a child, though I dreamt of the freedom to do whatever I wanted and did not know about utility bills and taxes and buying toilet paper. At the grocery store this week, when I spotted a gluten-free vegan raspberry cake for $4.99, I felt my inner eight-year-old leap a little. I did not hesitate. At home, I quickly unloaded the produce I purchased for dinner. Then, I sat down with my fork and slice of pink-frosted juicy fruit cake, and made my dreams come true. (There’s a bonus photo for you at the bottom of this page!)

I felt drained out after working long days inside a hotel ballroom this week, but a surprise thunderstorm momentarily brought me back to life. Without warning, the blue skies turned grey, and big raindrops fell into the otherwise quiet pool outside the hotel windows. Just as quickly as the rain had arrived, I watched as businessmen from the event dashed to the window to witness the rain. The same men I had seen rushing around only hours earlier were now huddled together, pointing at the clouds and smiling at the puddles of pink crape myrtle petals mixed with raindrops on the window’s ledge. From my view, I watched the reflection of the raindrops on the ceiling and smiled at watching people watching the rain. The storm subsided after only 10 or 12 minutes, but the sense of shared wonder made the room a little less heavy for the day.

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, or anything else you love!**

XOXO,

LJ

“I beg you to urge everyone:
Life and Death are a Great Matter
Awaken, Awaken, Awaken
Time passes quickly
Do not waste this precious life.”