OOH LA LA! #68

beauty thresholds (bird song, soft dips, walking new streets)

I was on a midday Manhattan-bound N train, tucked into my favorite seat facing forward, watching the world roll by through the window, when from behind me I heard:

“Ladies and gentlemen! Today is a good day! I believe I’m gonna have a good day! It’s time to dance!”

I turned to see a young guy in a gray t-shirt and jeans hit play on a handheld speaker, then hop back to his stage between the train doors where he waited for the beat, then burst into a series of impressive flips and spins on the subway bars.

I only glanced back for a moment, but long enough to see that the other accidental audience members were sat perfectly unfazed and unmoved by the performer, staring out the window, staring into their phones, or staring into space, pretending not to notice.

I personally love a subway performance! The sheer audacity! The courage it takes to offer joy, out loud, to strangers, especially in a city so famously indifferent. I also felt a little heartache in the silent response from the crowd.

Have we really stopped letting art move us?

Has beauty become background noise?

Or are we maybe just scared? Scared of feeling too much, of being seen loving something, of that wild aliveness breaking through the daily fog?

“In order to become attentive to beauty, we need to rediscover the art of reverence,” wrote Irish poet John O’ Donohue, “The notion of reverence is full of riches that we now need desperately. Put simply, it is appropriate that a human being should dwell on this earth with reverence. The earth is full of thresholds where beauty awaits the wonder of our gaze.”

I honestly don’t think we’re numb to wonder. I think we’re tender. And tender things get guarded.

But here’s the good news: reverence doesn’t require a ceremony, just a softening, a simple cracked-open yes, and a spark of presence. A simple, “wow” when you notice something wonderful. That’s the threshold! That’s the OOH LA LA!.

When’s the last time you let yourself be moved by something small and sudden and beautiful? Leave a comment or reply to this email and let me know!

This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: bird song in the morning, soft dips, walking down streets I haven’t walked before

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For a few weeks now, the sound of bird song in the morning has woken me up even before the alarm on my phone has gone off. In the space between sleeping and waking, I open my eyes to the soft light pouring in the east-facing windows and and pull my heavyweight green quilt over my shoulder to lie just a few more minutes in the warmth of my bed, the sound of soft “swee-swee” and “twiddle-dee” from the sparrows and robins singing me awake from the oak tree on the street. I feel I could stay here forever.

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The experience of dipping a crunchy chip in a soft dip is really quite a pleasure! I love eating guacamole or hummus or even a hot soup with a hard chip. Call it bad etiquette, but I love the playfulness of dipping in food with fingers and I fully embrace the salty residue and the slurpy crunch of dips and chips. To me, any food can become a dipping food if you wish, and sometimes it’s likely also the missing ingredient.

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When I walk around my neighborhood, which I do daily for pleasure and commuting, I enjoy taking in the sights and sounds of the familiar streets. There is a quiet comfort in knowing what to expect on my walks, but I’m also energized by walking down streets I haven’t walked down before. This week I took myself on a walk to the East River, and instead of staying straight east down 28th Avenue, I turned right, then left, and found myself on new side streets I’ve never been before. On these new streets, there are new plants to see, new textures and colors to take in, even new smells and sounds and a new feeling of the breeze blowing through passageways in buildings I’ve never felt before now. I feel awake to everything again in an instant!

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Thanks for reading!

As always, I’d love to know about your OOH LA LA! somethings.

Reply to this email with your own OOH LA LA! list or moment and I may share them in next issue! Feel free to include photos or art to accompany your description. I’d love to know your current wonders, pleasures, and delights!

XOXO,

LJ