These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

originally published nov 3 2021

I’m not going to lie: it’s been a tough couple of months. The end of summer was a welcome change, but the I was a bit unprepared for the onslaught of torrential rain. Coupled with nursing a mild infection (don’t worry, nothing contagious and nothing serious), I was feeling trapped in my body (read: persistent pain), and thus wasn’t exercising or getting out of the house very much, so my usual outlets for anxiety were gone. Luckily, I was still working, and my lovely clients made sure to shower me in thoughtful attention and were super respectful and accommodating to my boundaries while navigating pain.

It seems when I talk to others, they’ve been a similar funk. Of course, the raging pandemic and continuous systemic failures to help the most marginalized of our communities have been creating external pressures that trigger depression for a lot of people, but it feels like folks are also struggling on a personal level, beyond the scope of masks and reduced social excursions (though I suppose it would be hard to completely separate the effects that’s had on people’s personal lives…). Nevertheless, these conversations have me feeling a lot heavier than usual, for it’s hard to see people you care about, or even strangers, struggle like this.

Though it’s not always accessible or easy for everyone, the most helpful method in my own life has been a journey around meditation and mindfulness practice. For me, this largely takes the form of meditating every morning before I do anything else. I light incense, sit on a comfy cushion, and face the rising sun. By the time I open my eyes, the world is lit, and I have at least attempted to calm my mind (even if I do often find it wandering to my to-do list, or that person I forgot to text back). This practice has helped me slow down in every day life and remind myself to be grateful when things are hard.

Of course, telling yourself to just “be grateful!” when you’re struggling doesn’t fix anything. Rather, it allows me to keep a more open perspective to my suffering. Mostly, it reminds me that even though I feel bad now, I won’t always. Eventually, something will shift or change. It could be tomorrow. It could be a week, a month, 3 months from now. No matter how hard I’ve struggled, it has always, always, always changed eventually. I don’t mean to disregard serious mental health issues like chronic depression, or to pretend that someone’s permanent physical condition is changeable (gratitude isn’t going to un-paralyze you, after all). It’s just something to think about, when it feels like there’s nothing else good coming your way.

So, in an effort to share a bit of myself, and invite you into my world, here are some of the things I love best; the things I am always grateful for. To be alive in this moment, in this lifetime, sharing the experience of being a human with 8 billion other beings, is a wonderful thing. Thank you for being here with me.

Little joys:

•the scent of jasmine flowers

• 35mm film

• handwriting in a fresh, leather-bound notebook

• candlelit baths

• dirty martinis in a coupe glass

• foggy mornings spent in bed with a good book

• listening to the wind in the desert

• the smell of Ethiopian coffee brewing in a french press

• fresh flower bouquets

• digging my feet into the sand at the beach

• sweat trickling down my stomach in a dry sauna

• the softness of a high quality leather bag

• the weightless feeling just after takeoff

• the swirl of cold water on my skin during a naked swim

• salsa dancing with an experienced lead

•Maldon salt melting on a chocolate chip cookie

•the texture of fine silk on my skin

Exquisite, almost divine in the simplicity, is where the heart of living resides.

I invite you to think what you are most grateful for, what soothes you in times of trouble (or just monotonously grey days that bind you to your couch…). What makes it worth it to get up in the morning? Is it the smell of coffee? The sound of children laughing as they get ready for school? The steam of the hot shower that melts the sleep from your eyes?

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? - Mary Oliver

With gratitude,

Simone