Hey, I Love You: Permission to Celebrate

[This letter was originally sent on January 15th, 2020. I’m reposting all of my previous HILY letters to preserve them in the archive, and to reach you again (or for the first time) if you need it. New HILY letters coming soon!

I was particularly struck by this one today because one of the “ways of being” that I have been chosing to focus on this year is “in celebration”. Finding tiny things to celebrate, or ways to make ordinary events a little more celebratory, has been adding so much joy to my life.]

Hi perfectly imperfect human,

I’ve got this soap. Maybe you have it too. It’s…well…it’s fancy. It has little bits of flowers in it, all-natural fragrance and was probably made by nuns who raise goats humanely in an Alpine village. You know – FANCY.

I’ve been saving this soap for a special occasion. Every once in awhile as I get ready to take a bath, I pick it up and smell it, and think wistfully of the time that I will celebrate the as yet unknown event for which I have kept it aside.

I’ve been saving this soap
For 
Three
Years.

Looking back, there are lots of things that happened during the past three years that are worth a bit of celebration, and yet the soap sits. What occasion is “special enough”? What am I waiting for? 

Maybe your version of this fancy-ass soap is a nice scotch, or an expensive candle, or an outfit you look amazing in but haven’t felt bold enough to wear out. I think a lot of us have that “Special Occasion Thing” patiently waiting for us to decide today is special enough.

Today I woke up and decided that I was not going to wait anymore. I’m going to celebrate all kinds of things… accomplishments and big goals, sure, but also just days that feel really good to be alive. If we can’t celebrate ALIVENESS what the heck are we even doing?!

So I’ve declared some brand new “Officially Recognized Special Occasions” which you are welcome to use as permission to celebrate. 

 

Officially Recognized Special Occasions:

• Got a new library book
• Didn't hit "reply all"
• Successfully changed a printer cartridge
• Met a puppy
• Unsuccessfully changed a printer cartridge
• Made it this far

Time to celebrate!
<3

Adding to this list is highly encouraged.

Try This

This one is simple and you’ve probably already guessed it – declare your own Special Occasion! Choose one of those Special Occasion Things you’ve been saving and ENJOY it.

I would love to hear about your "just because" celebrations, so feel free to respond to this email or find me on instagram @writeplayrepeat!
 

Good Feels

• These housemates wrote a note asking to play with their neighbor’s dog and got an adorable response.
• Artist Tim Okamura creates gorgeous portraits featuring Black women
• A Dutch photographer spots a squirrel stopping to smell the flowers

On the playlist

Today’s HILY jam is Paulo Nutini’s infectious tune “New Shoes”.

Hey, I put some new shoes on
And suddenly everything is right
I said hey, I put some new shoes on
And everybody's smiling, it's so inviting
Oh, short on money but long on time
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine
And I'm running late and I don't need an excuse
'Cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes

Listen to the HILY Spotify playlist here.

That's all for this week! Remember to drink water, stretch your bod, and hey - I love you.
 

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