More Of This

Finding things to look forward to and inviting in more of what we want

Dear Reader,

It’s been quite a week both on the world’s sensational stage and in the small corner of my own life and body. How are you holding up? In honesty, I am carrying varying weights of grief for it all, for the overwhelming unknown, for what is known and normalized and even pedestaled. Being human, here, now, feels like a baffling mystery but I suppose people throughout time have felt the same. In that we are not alone.

This week I am reminded of two quotes that act as anchors in these current rip tides.

The first was an inquiry made by artist Vyana Novus in the early days of 2020 when the world shut down for all, and for many their day to day lives were rutted and riddled with unknowns. “What is something you are looking forward to?”, they asked. At that time the answer may have been as simple as my first sip of morning coffee, beginning a new art piece, daily walks in my neighborhood. These ordinary things were transformed into touch points of simple pleasure that offered a tether from our reeling minds back into our bodies. It returned our sense of presence when time seemed to just rollover.

The second was spoken by a guest on a podcast I was listening to just yesterday while painting the exterior pane windows of our casetta (another trusty anchor for me when life gets a little spirally: tend to home). Author Lily Womble discussed her intersectional approach to navigating the dating world with the foundational step being getting clear on one’s desires. This extends beyond the narrow scope of listing the ideal traits of a potential partner. Lily uses the phrase ‘Thank you, more please’ as a way of acknowledging moments of appreciation and pleasure in her everyday life. It’s a nod of gratitude and a request for more of what she wants. It’s telling the universe I enjoy this and I invite in more experiences like it.

These words are tucked inside my pocket this week. I pull them out when I need them, when I could use a reminder to be present with all the good that is. It encourages awareness for the beauty in my life, no matter how small, and in my gratitude allows me to find more of it. It’s a non-consumeristic participation in “little treat” culture, the philosophy (thanks, TikTok) of self-granted small rewards for doing something uncomfortable or difficult. Being human warrants a little positive reinforcement now and then and peppering our everyday lives with moments of anticipated joy and ease and relief gives us the power needed to persevere.

Last weekend we could be found on the lush, verdant side of the isle hosted by friends of a friend. There, we could be found feeling grateful for widening circles, a welcomed step away, good hearts to weather the world with. There, some of us repaired a treehouse manipulated by the jungle, some of us strolled the botanical garden level landscape and ‘shopped’ for cuttings, all of us savored morning cappuccinos in-house, estate-grown chocolate, art portfolios, and eastern facing sunrises. While the future of our political democracy continued to spiral, we found our touch points, our tethers back to the here and now. We filled our cups among community and fed our five senses with the simple beauty of flavor, night-blooming fragrant plants, the rush (or hush) of the stream, the high humidity, and the visual wonder of botanical diversity.

Thank you, more please.