Late June Sunday musings

There are very few places as beautiful as the Great Lawn of Central Park on a warm late June Sunday. Washington Square Park isn’t bad either.

There is no happy calmness like that instilled by good sleep, sunlight, exercise, clean food and the company of a few good friends.

People often try too hard when saying hello. “It’s great to see you” is all you need to say and sounds truer than anything else you come up with.

Beauty is tantalizing because it is so hard to relate without distorting your original taste of it. When you experience it you feel an incredibly strong desire to capture and save a piece of it. Photos never do the trick, but writing sometimes can, and augment it in unexpected ways.

Everyone is starving for unpretentious authentic interactions. There is no need to impress anyone.

There are absolute truths but it is more common for people to be both wrong and right in their view of the world. Everyone is trapped in their particular narrative. They have good reason to be bitter about what they are bitter about but in their view they are also ignoring an entirely different paradigm. It is difficult to get people to overcome the set of experiences that constitute their lives to date.

You can often tell how authentic a conversation is by how loud it is. Volume is added artifice and armor, as are fully baked expressions.

Performance in the moment doesn’t matter. There is no need to worry about what you sound like or what you say. If you are meant to enjoy someone’s presence you will. Chemistry is a real thing. Everything that is underlying is understood when you find a matching receptor.

Your energy really does radiate around you. Presence is contagious. Everything is wonderful and all of your interactions feel golden when you are filled with wonder. Everyone is terrible when you are filled with anxiety, but you can cut those moments short by taking back control of them.

Stillness and quiet are authentic. Nature makes people calm down.

People try so hard even though what they really want is very simple.

The world is an ongoing painting and novel filled with more or less understated clues for you to notice. There are moments of grace and beauty everywhere you look, if you look. These often come very clustered, just like moments of anguish and sadness.

When you are overcome with wonder, ride its natural wave of inspiration by creating something. When you can’t seem to run away from your stress and stifling obligations, remember that things come in waves and that you ultimately do have control over your inner state.

Revisiting places from your past can make you nostalgic in pleasant and unpleasant ways depending on your state of mind. It is pleasant when these feel reassuringly smaller than you remember them and still a part of whom you’ve become. It is less pleasant when they elicit regret and the powerlessness that comes with it.

Time will continue to pass (which is inevitably sad) but you will come to terms with it if you make your past the sturdy foundation of your present self, not something to miss nor an enemy. If you choose to live in this way, you can perpetually be on an upward-sloping path.

You don’t need to drink or take anything to get a high. Truth is not in running away from things but in facing them as directly as possible. You’ll feel more satisfied with the natural rushes of energy and inspiration you get.

Everyone tries really hard even though what they want is so simple. People think kids are cute because they haven’t yet learned to try hard so come across more authentically. Which makes everyone smile.

Most people feel a certain spotlight effect which prevents them from expressing themselves as much as they would like. No matter how difficult it is to stay aware of this, try to remember that no one is paying as much attention to you as you think they are. They are focused on their own spotlight.

Time is very long, especially when you are paying attention.

Luxury is having long uninterrupted stretches of time doing one thing.

It is more reassuring than daunting to think of how many parallel stories are unfolding everywhere. Opportunity is abundant and you don’t need to seize that much of it to thrive.

Everything is and has already been here. The Great Lawn will still be here when you go to sleep.

“Beauty will save the world.”