“Enjoy the view!”

Issue 5: A simple yet powerful instruction for life

I took a mindful “hot girl” walk through the park on a rainy Sunday morning, and because it was raining, I a) felt very strong main character energy and b), all the benches lining my usual promenade were empty. I started noticing the bench inscriptions. One after the other. Many in memoriam, honoring the lives and memories of loved ones, others marking a specific memory, a season. But one in particular stood out to me for the simplicity of its instruction: “Enjoy the view! From Natalie & Albert.”

After reading this gentle directive, I took Natalie and Albert’s advice and looked up, across the Great Lawn. Despite the rain, I still saw a flurry of activity: dogs playing in the wet grass, shaking off their fur onto unsuspecting owners, the ensuing laughs as unexpected drops of water hit their faces; I saw a group of people standing in a circle throwing a frisbee back and forth, mouths hanging open in childlike anticipation for the next throw to be completed. In that small act, following Natalie and Albert’s directive, I found a moment of appreciation and satisfaction, simply by stepping outside myself and my own head to view the world around me and connect to my part in it. I was reminded how important it is to find pleasure in the present. What a helpful instruction for living. Don’t write the ending, just enjoy the view.

I’m challenging myself to remove the goggles of expectations, of categories, of planning. Instead, I’m taking in all the sensations of enjoying my current view: the flurries of excitement that come with changing seasons; the refreshing nip of a cool evening breeze on my face; the perfect temperature for my favorite outfit combo of a hoodie and shorts; the scratches of my pen scribbling on paper as I sit down to write at my resurrected desk in my home studio, no longer buried under piles of papers, old magazines, and mail I should have opened three months ago; the possibility lying in unopened notebooks that tease a glimmer of finally getting my life together; the aroma of garlic, scallions, and soy sauce wafting through my kitchen when I finally am brave enough to not only buy groceries but cook for myself that same night (!). I’m enjoying the taste of brightness with notes of caramel and chocolate swirling in my morning cup at my neighborhood coffee shop, where the intersecting routines of the regulars means I get to pet Max (dog) and say hi to Neil (human).

“Planning is the enemy of spontaneity,” my beginner acting teacher’s voice echoes in my head, and without the spontaneity, you may miss out on the magical moments you could have never expected.

(Certainly not me, as someone who has never over-planned anything in her life.)

A reminder for future me, then, of some other ways I am enjoying the view:

• The in between moments of the day with Addy on a park bench, watching the clouds and sunset together, laughing about her milk weed lore

• Reading my summer ’24 time capsule note Cissy made us all write: “By 2025, I hope you are feeling as at peace with yourself and your life. That you center creativity (writing, art) alongside the external energy and continuing to invest in friendships. Keep sliving!”
• “Bullying parties” where I get my friends together at a library (no yapping allowed) and we collectively bully each other into tasks we’ve been putting off or can’t seem to find the time or motivation to do on our own. For example, Alice read Infinite Jest (she’s totally Fine and doing Well).

• The beauty of capturing NATURAL LIGHT on film!! (By the way, I live in Brooklyn.......)

• The fulfillment I get when I hear the crinkling of my filled Hobonichi planner pages, but equally appreciating the empty pages instead of feeling guilt and shame for missing days
• Running into friends out on these streets, it’s almost like I live here?
• That feeling of satisfaction when I successfully Remy my way into cheffing up a decent meal out of fridge leftovers and old groceries
• That perfect pop when I (totally on purpose) hit the tennis ball right in the sweet spot of my racquet

• Writing mornings at the Center for Fiction and the joy in being surprised at where my own brain takes me on the page
• On the flip side, cherishing this sage advice from Jess: “Pondering is a dangerous activity diva, you must be careful”
• And feeling so seen in friendship and as a human by Ariana: “it is very cool that you are able to say... hey i’m struggling a bit and i also know why i’m struggling a bit”
• Exceeding my concert challenge with Elizabeth (this year we’ve seen: Charli XCX, Beyoncé, and T-Pain together)
• The Summer I Stayed Team Conrad and TSITP watch parties with the girlies
• Admiring the gradients of a San Francisco summer sunset in Sophia’s new apartment
• Lingering goodbyes after a dinner with Nicole, where we proceeded to yap for another 30 minutes after both of us saying we had to go
• Heat checking these chickens in the city while standing on business with Paul
• “Perennial pleasures,” bonsais, and lily pads at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens with Sabrina

• The moon and her fierce commitment to never being captured fully in photos

• Watching (almost) back to back features at the Paris Theater with my fellow cinephiles and the obligatory post-movie yap on the sidewalk. (If you haven’t seen Amadeus, I would highly recommend.)
• “Feel good not bad!” — my and my sister’s latest catchphrase, because why use lot word when few word do trick?

Keep enjoying being right here,

katie “Views” 📸