This week, I’ve been trying to establish new morning routines to help me start the day with a settled but curious mindset. Step one is to write Morning Pages as suggested by Julia Cameron. Step 2 is a 30-minute meditation. Step 3 is 15 minutes of reading followed by 15 minutes of creative writing. Here’s what else I found this week.
Five-year Florida-versary: Next month, I will have lived in Florida for five years. I only came for graduate school but stayed because of my partner. Florida shook me up in a few ways:
I’ve lived in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. Coming from the Midwest, where every stranger smiles and makes polite small talk, the direct, no-bullshit approach of New York and Cuban culture initially surprised me. But now, I feel like South Florida has taught me to stand up for myself and communicate clearly.
Growing up in white-collar suburbia, I didn’t understand wealth disparity and the race-wealth divide on a concrete level. Miami has the highest of both of these in the country. For example, seeing Teslas less than a mile away from homeless encampments taught me on a concrete scale.
Miami (and all of South Florida) has so many identities, and the population tends to be more transient than other areas of the country. Drive half a mile and you’ll find yourself in a completely different architectural style, culture, and lifestyle. Wait a year and see which people in the circle move away. Living here can be disorienting.
Recipe of the week: Sardine fritters by Antoni Porowski. Crispy, spicy, simple, and warm. I recommend watching the full video before making these so you don’t grab your phone with sardine-batter fingers like I did.
Song of the week: “Lose Your Mind” by So Many Wizards. This is one of those indie songs that immediately feels familiar in the best of ways. The lyrics are also a great reminder to just take a break and try to enjoy life. I’m still learning how to be an adult, be a good person, and enjoy my life. For me, a big piece of that is listening to songs I love.
Podcast of the week: This Reply All podcast episode, “The Least You Could Do,” discusses Venmo and PayPal payments sent from white people to black people with no explanation following the Black Lives Matter protests and the killing of George Floyd. It’s a funny but thoughtful discussion of how people are at a loss for how to help or just want an easy way to be let off the hook. (If you’re looking for ways to help, here’s a list. I’m also reading “How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. I’m learning, too.)
Uplifting story of the week: The story of the Barcelona Opera reopening to an audience of almost three thousand plants soothed me. Avoiding parks has been one of the toughest parts of lockdown. Being in nature calms my whirring mind and makes me feel connected to the wise, complex ecosystems that I rely on. Some of my best memories of my hometown, Overland Park, Kansas, are of taking long walks on sidewalks shaded by a canopy of oak leaves. But Miami’s population is so dense you can’t go to the park without passing dozens of strangers, so I’ve been cautious about visiting parks.