A list of beautiful things #12

Feb 26, 2022

Imagine loving someone this much.
What we are really doing when we buy a bouquet of flowers: setting ourselves up for the “expected grief” of knowing they will eventually die.
Our body is a void that fills a void.
I’ve watched like 20 of these. I think my favorite part is how she twists her belt just so.
I was thinking the other day about Holden Caulfield’s fantasy, about how all he wanted to be in life was a catcher in the rye — protecting thousands of children who were playing in a field from falling down into a cliff below. It made me wonder, if I could make up a job like that for myself, what it would be? And I thought: I’d like to be someone who just went around alerting others when a new flower was in bloom. As I was considering this question, I realized it made me think not about the “job” I want — but more like the essence of my purpose. Give this exercise a try. Let me know your answer.
I’d love to receive a postcard like this in the mail.
The end scene of Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957) is pure poetry. Watch until the end, note the six ascending notes of the harp. “If I have been feeling worried or sad during the day, I have a habit of recalling scenes from my childhood to calm me.” I wonder what that memory is for me.
Why we embrace when we say goodbye.
I will never tire of the eternal wholesomeness of WikiHow: “Smile and take notice of the changes around you.”
For Ukraine.

Some little things from me

Cover reveal of my new book! I recount my summers in Egypt from age 9 to 25 as I try to understand my role in my new family, the country -- and myself, who I am and who I want to be.
Very proud of this embroidered pillow I made.
What it feels like to be loved
i no longer have use for “walkable heels”
The person with the coolest taste I know, Alison Baitz, has started her own newsletter. Read her first one here, then subscribe.

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