Disclaimer: Today’s sauce is about the interiors of our lives, not a political commentary.
Hi Friend,
Change is in the air. The leaves are turning colors here in New York as an inescapable— albeit welcomed, fall chill settles in.
Just like the leaves, in our intimates lives we’re navigating big change. I can see it in the lives of everyone close to me. Big. Life. Altering. Change. Change often can be painful. Even if it is welcoming in something beautiful—the unknown.
Transition can lead to transformation, if we let it. Transformation can allow for possibilities beyond our imagination, if we allow it.
'The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is… there’s no ground.'—Chögyam Trungpa.
Trying to control every outcome, especially in times as charged and unpredictable as now, only intensifies our sense of helplessness. It’s also important to remember the act of freefall isn’t passive resignation. It’s the opposite, it’s an active embrace of what is: the beautiful, raw, and unpredictable nature of our lives and the world around us. When we stop searching for unshakable ground, we become freer to take meaningful action, to respond with our full presence rather than fear.—Manoj Dias
Stay open. I love you. Stay in it. I love you.
On My Mind
Everyone is scared.
After coffee walks through Fort Greene park and conversations over dimly lit dinners, this has become so clear to me. Everyone is scared. We are all scared. You are scared. I am scared.
And, while I side eye a binary—as the grey area is the most honest place we live—I believe there are truly two types of people in this world on this front.
There are those who are scared and can’t move.
And—those who do it scared.
You, I, we don’t get the big expansive juicy gorgeous fulfilling life we desire by staying scared and staying put, emotionally. Do it scared. Find out if it’s really that scary on the other side. Find out who you are on the other side of it. Anyone you admire has done it scared.
Worth mentioning: Doing it scared doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.
‘Trying really hard shit is purifying and life enhancing.’
—The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self
I just finished reading, The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter where he explores the idea of the Misogi, a Japanese Shinto ritual that involves cleansing the body and mind through purification that dates back to eighth-century Japan.
Meaning: The word "misogi" means "purification" in Japanese.
Practice: The traditional practice involves standing under a waterfall or immersing oneself in cold water.
Purpose: The ritual is said to open the path to a pure soul and clean mind, and to free oneself from material bondage.
Modern meaning: In modern times, misogi has taken on a broader meaning, becoming a challenge that pushes people to their limits and forces them to confront their fears and weaknesses.
Perhaps this is your opportunity to contemplate what a misogi would look like for you?
On My Tongue
I attended a talk this week on the advent of David Hershkovits’ PAPER magazine and New York nightlife in the 70s, 80s & 90s.
What a time to be alive! He bumped shoulders with the likes of Andy Warhol and Basquiat. Wrote about nights at CBGB, Electric Circus, The Cooler and hung out with the Sex Pistols. CAN YOU IMAGINE. He really experienced, wrote about and was a part of a huge underground cultural renaissance in New York. While many of the clubs named above are long gone there are still living pieces of New York history that touch that time period that you can experience today.
The Odeon.
The Odeon was the restaurant that defined New York’s 80s: a retro haven for the likes of Warhol and Basquiat, De Niro and Belushi, with a cocaine-fueled scene captured in Bright Lights, Big City and word has it, where the now famous Cosmopolitan originated. 🍸
With new restaurants always popping up around the city, there’s something so grounding about being in a space that held so many cultural makers, so much history, so many stories. I’ve been to the Odeon a few times in the past few weeks, it’s such a delight every time. The food is incredible, the drinks are immaculate, the ambiance is unchanged and that’s it’s charm. You can tell when a space has a heartbeat that proceeds you.
That’s the Odeon. Powerful history yet very much still alive. I’d recommend the duck.
In My Eyes
Crown Affair Dry Shampoo Hair powder.
It smells good, travel friendly, nicely designed and most importantly, it works.
On a recent work trip to London this powder got me through mornings when the jet lag was too intense to wake up an extra hour early to wash and blow dry my hair.
On My Soul
Join or Die! Available on Netflix now.
This documentary examines social scientist Robert Putnam's ‘Bowling Alone’ theory of how declining community engagement created an American civic crisis and what we can do about it. I attended a Creative Mornings event in April on the topic of ‘Commitment’ where the documentary film maker of Join or Die, Pete Davis encouraged all of us to join a club. It’s a galvanizing watch. Both Davis’ talk and the documentary.
TLDR is this, commit. In a society that is all about keeping your options open, don’t. Commit. That’s where all the good stuff lives.
The Energy
Besu,
Kellie