Hello, hello, hello,
Do you feel winter approaching? Are you excited or scared? How do you make winter enjoyable? Winter sports? Cuddles? A nice cup of hot coffee? Snowman? What else? Tell me!
I am typing at a new friend’s flower shop in Hangzhou. He is about to open another location after being in business for six months (!). His life is surrounded by obvious beauty. This means right this moment, I am surrounded by obvious beauty. I need more obvious beauty in my life. Do you have too much or too little obvious beauty in your life?
We are at odds with our environment. Most of us learn to pretzel and adapt to our environment – a useful skill. A few dares to reimagine and rebuild our environment – a powerful skill. What’s your relationship with your physical environment and your things like? Have you ever paid close attention to it?
I had a similar conversation with my dear friend Jesse about things and our relationship with them. I need and love things. I am not attached to them. I need and love my friends. I am attached to them. It is easier for me to let go of things. How about you?
This lends well to my aspiring lifestyle. I am tiptoeing into a nomadic lifestyle. I am the type of nomad that needs a homebase: a place where I can go do my repairs, go to the doctors, get hugs and kisses, and homemade food. I have a sense that I will need a homebase in each country. That’s helpful information.
My dad is about to have a small surgery. I am going to take care of him. I am nervous. He is stubborn. Wish me well.
Parting question, when was the last time that you prayed with someone? A time where you let your most vulnerable self being heard and seen. (Not when you pray so others can hear what a good person you are.) This is my current definition of intimacy. If you have such a person in your life, someone whom you feel relaxed and comfort showing all sides of you, cherish them.
Thanksgiving is this week. I keep thinking it is next week. It’s my favorite American holiday. I will celebrate by giving thanks to this embodied human experience and of course, my dear friends all over the world. You make me.
Xoxo,
Xiaoyu
P.S. pray for my dad. Thank you.
