Open-hearted joys 開開心心 77
When I took a long break from blogging, without a doubt, the thing that I missed most was sharing these gratitude lists. Sure, I write these for myself first – I have an old pocket-sized notebook that I scribble my joys in every day – but I’ve grown to cherish these Fridays every other fortnight, where I hear from you lot and see joyful windows into your lives. While I was on my summer break, I realised that I’ve always loved the community feel of old-school blogging the most, catching up with online friends or strangers, learning about others’ way and perspective in life. Long may this continue.
There’s a lot to be said for appreciating the smaller, not necessarily finer, details of the everyday mundane. Here’s to another list of petite, open-hearted joys, the moments that’ve brought and woven poetry to my days, this fortnight:
一. My Substack and the cosy community we’re building there. For some reason, I get more engagement there than on any other platform, including this self-hosted blog. For that reason alone, I’m pouring just a little more of my energy into Substack lately, which I talk about in my most recent Sundaze post.
二. Seeing Busted with my girls last week! And then a day visiting the V&A Taylor Swift Songbook Trail and Barbie: The Exhibition. Teenage dreams all comin’ true.
三. Long summer evenings spent star-gazing or by the fire pit or walking through the fields or in a beer garden or laying on a blanket with my dog by my side.
四. The dreamlike playlist on Spotify, which has been the soundtrack to my morning getting-ready sessions and afternoon writing sessions and evening drives by the fields.
五. Smashing my gym progress with a plethora of new PBs under my belt.
六. Reformer Pilates classes with my boyfriend. We take classes at a local studio that’s in a converted barn, which feels so cosy. And our instructor is incredible! She even closes each class with her homemade ginger shots.
七. Stolen half-hours for writing, between after-work chores, cleaning and cooking.
八. The feeling of the September start. I, for one, have been dipping into my AW24 wardrobe and happily plucking books from my self-curated, self-imposed reading list for the new term.
九. Commemorating three years since our second-first date.
十. The shower after a long day.
