Wednesday, April 9, 2014

juice


I want to tell you about how I've been drinking a lot of juice with a 77 year old Danish man, who speaks six languages and has walked across Spain four times. 
He is patient with everything in life. 
Seemingly. 
I am learning from this. 
And slowly improving, in my ability to drink juice, and walk and talk about nothing for hours. 
I am learning, that being, just being, and breathing and moving and drinking a glass of zumo de melocotón, it is enough. 


I am taking joy in this. 

Barbara Chisholm, this remarkable lady I know, once did an interview with a magazine. 
She explained in the interview how she didn't tell her daughter that she wanted her to be happy in life. 
Because happiness is a fleeting emotion. 
Rather, she said she wanted her daughter to live joyfully. 
Because taking joy is a lifestyle. 

For me, the reality of living joyfully is so hard sometimes. 
It's so easy to forget to do. 
Because it isn't like the movies promised it would be, except for when it is, and dumb stuff happens when you're drunk and falling down and getting back up and trying to stay updated on current events and listening to the right bands and not falling asleep at night and remembering everybody's birthday and dietary needs and sending the postcards and trying to say what you mean and almost always doing what you said you would. 
And it's hard. 
Being a person is so goddamn hard sometimes, because the world is generally pretty uninvested in  personal happiness. 

Which is why I'm trying and learning how to take joy. 

I think the secret is drinking zumo de melocotón, peach juice.
I really do. 
And sitting very still, and walking and talking about nothing. Or maybe it's actually about spending time with ancient Danish men. 

I really don't know. 

What a world. 

I love you.