Sensory SZN

Summer is approaching, and as a solar-powered human, I couldn’t be happier. The air smells of jasmine. This weekend, I got to eat a perfect fresh strawberry my brother grew in his garden, and in the mornings, I’m awakened by birds chirping outside my window. We had our first 89-degree day last week. I was overheated all day, but I didn’t mind because I know that in just a few weeks, I’ll find 80-degree temperatures to be a refreshing respite from the heat. 

I’ve been in a Master of Fine Arts program for the past two and a half years, working on a degree in Writing (I studied both fiction and nonfiction, hence the extra half-year) and I’ve been preparing my graduate lecture, which is about using details to create a world in both fiction and nonfiction. In reality, it is about noticing. It’s about paying attention to the world and helping readers do the same. 

Ironically, despite being prepared to deliver a 30-minute talk about using sensory details and paying attention, I’m not very good at taking my advice when I’m busy, as I often am. I tell myself I will enjoy things later or that there’s no way I have time to squeeze in watching the sunset or tasting my food or slowing my pace on a walk to notice the flowers.  

If you’ve been in therapy (or been on the Internet), you’ve likely heard about the grounding exercise where you name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste as a way of being grounded in your body. I love my therapist with all my heart, but when she suggests that I ground myself in the moment or my body, I feel annoyed and reticent. It’s so much easier to exist in the world of my brain, where I can focus on intellectualizing my feelings as opposed to feeling them. She frequently gives me “homework” (which you know is my dream, I love a gold star and an assignment!) to pay attention to what I feel in my body and notice the world around me. 

Of course, she’s right (she always is!) — using my senses helps me feel calmer, but it also helps me access joy. My day is made immeasurably better when I step into my backyard and check on the flowers blooming in my yard, or appreciate the smell of my toast, or listen to a song I love and truly hear it (and sing along loudly). 

This is a busy time of year, and it’s tempting to rush, rush, rush through the end of the school year and all the demands on our time before summer slows down, but I’m challenging myself, and you, by way of this post, to spend some time noticing the world around you, and finding some joy in it. Can you savor your coffee? Stay a few minutes more for coffee with a friend (and really taste your latte?) and notice the ease that comes when you get to laugh together? Check out the flowers in your neighborhood? Pay attention to how soft your dogs’ ears are? I promise, those little microdoses of joy are worth it every time. Sending you love and a few moments to pay attention this week. 

•  Speaking of therapists, they’re feeling it too. By “it” I mean the weight of the world. (Bustle)

•  How to nurture and grow a personal library. I love the idea of a personal library as an autobiography. (Psyche)

•  As a committed lover of summer, I take great delight in delivering my best recommendations for summer clothes, makeup, and sundries. Here are this year’s. I made one last year, too, if you’re so inclined. (Substack)

•  I cannot recommend PACT’s Weekender Airplane sets if you’re traveling this summer enough. I wore one on my long flight to Edinburgh, and it was so comfortable. I tend to feel haggard and frumpy on flights, and this look made me feel chic and put together. They’ve got a shorts version now, and while I typically eschew shorts on an airplane, this might change my mind, though I suspect that I would wear this set everywhere. (WearPact)

•  A good life is inconvenient. I’m still obsessing over the idea of how life being less convenient might be the way. (Substack)

•  Have you listened to Amy Poehler’s podcast, Good Hang? This week’s episode with Michelle Obama was an absolute delight. I also recommend the episodes with Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Tina Fey, Martin Short, and Rashida Jones. You know what? Just listen to all of them. (Spotify)

•  It’s ice cream season, and I love Joy’s recipe for coffee ice cream (with cookie crumbles, because obviously) without an ice cream maker. Easy and truly delicious. (Joy The Baker) 

•  How to Use Exercise As Part of Your Mental Health Toolbox. I find it deeply annoying (and helpful) that exercise makes such a difference in my well-being. Here are ways to use exercise to help your mental well-being — safely. (Women’s Health)

•  Speaking of exercise, here are the best walking shoes for women according to podiatrists. (Glamour)

•  Why Are Young People Everywhere So Unhappy? Oof. As a teacher, I am well aware that many, many kids are miserable, but this article illuminates some of the reasons why. (The Atlantic Gift Link)

•  I love lemon-flavored desserts, and lemon bars are one of my favorite things to make and eat. This recipe is my favorite one to use. (Joy The Baker)

•  I love greek flavors and any bowl situation. Excited to give this Greek Meatball Bowl recipe a try. (Food and Wine)

•  The Two Choices That Keep a Midlife Crisis at Bay: As I move through my 40s, I don’t necessarily feel a crisis coming on, but I am doing a lot of reflecting on my life and choices. I loved this article about keeping the crisis aspect at bay. (The Atlantic Gift Link)

•  During the summer, I like to walk as much as I can, but I hate being loaded down with a purse. I’m newly-obsessed with my Lululemon Dual-Pouch wristlet that is big enough to hold my phone, some cards, lip gloss, AirPods…anything I need. I also love this hat because it has room for my ponytail and blocks the sun! (Lululemon)

•  I think Black and White cookies are one of the most perfect foods on earth, but have you considered Black and Tan cookies with peanut butter and chocolate? You should. (Joy The Baker)