What a great essay. You wrote about air conditioning and it reminded me of a lesson on maximizing pleasure:
The ideal human temperature is 76° Fahrenheit, but maximum human pleasure is not staying at a constant 76°, it’s arriving at 76°. It’s being cold and warming up by a fire, or being hot and then cooling down with AC.
Sometimes when I am taking a shower, I think about the fact that no amount of wealth or money or luxury could make a hot shower any nicer. A girl on tiktok said she asked her grandmother once why she liked doing the dishes, and she said "I like the feeling of the warm water on my hands." I'm trying to set that into my permanent memory, I just want to be more like that grandmother if I can. Thanks for this piece- I really liked the bit about looking for something beautiful in the rasp of someone's voice.
Really enjoyed this. It resonated with me especially deeply because this summer, for the first time that I can remember, I experienced summer as a genuinely hot season. It normally doesn't affect me much - for some reason this year it did. And even as my T-shirts became darkened with sweat in my car, and I lay in bed at night sweating, I remember thinking, there's something very pleasant and memorable about how alive I feel right now. I'm living in the real world.
I don’t recall subscribing to this Substack. But getting this post in my inbox was a pleasant surprise. I’m finishing a new book called Smile When You Poop, all about being grateful even when life stinks.
And a big part of it is all about NOTICING the everyday pleasures (I call helpers) we tend to overlook.
This post is a beautiful argument for doing just that. 🙌🏿
I could go on and on about how different it is where I live but that's not the point. You are talking about how to live in the real moment and experience it with all senses and be grateful for the miracles...that is valuable everywhere. Thank you.
Hi Miguel, I think in terms of living in closed temperate-controlled homes or using public transport or the ability to grow their own food...but though life may be different the points you make about appreciating the moment are still valuable of course... 🙏
What a treat!! Probably one of my favourite in the wave of criticism of a life of conveniences. I dislike the hot, humid Summers in Asia (where I live) the most, but I suddenly felt like turning off the air-con and enjoying it somehow. Bookmarked and shared around.
Simon, I love this one. Just last week we ate the last tomato off our vines and it was terrific, and I’m already looking forward to the first ripe tomato next year. Now I’ll find some good winter squash to savor.
I wish you published more often, but to use your own analogy, the cycle of deprivation makes reading your work all the more pleasurable.
What a great essay. You wrote about air conditioning and it reminded me of a lesson on maximizing pleasure:
The ideal human temperature is 76° Fahrenheit, but maximum human pleasure is not staying at a constant 76°, it’s arriving at 76°. It’s being cold and warming up by a fire, or being hot and then cooling down with AC.
Sometimes when I am taking a shower, I think about the fact that no amount of wealth or money or luxury could make a hot shower any nicer. A girl on tiktok said she asked her grandmother once why she liked doing the dishes, and she said "I like the feeling of the warm water on my hands." I'm trying to set that into my permanent memory, I just want to be more like that grandmother if I can. Thanks for this piece- I really liked the bit about looking for something beautiful in the rasp of someone's voice.
Really enjoyed this. It resonated with me especially deeply because this summer, for the first time that I can remember, I experienced summer as a genuinely hot season. It normally doesn't affect me much - for some reason this year it did. And even as my T-shirts became darkened with sweat in my car, and I lay in bed at night sweating, I remember thinking, there's something very pleasant and memorable about how alive I feel right now. I'm living in the real world.
I don’t recall subscribing to this Substack. But getting this post in my inbox was a pleasant surprise. I’m finishing a new book called Smile When You Poop, all about being grateful even when life stinks.
And a big part of it is all about NOTICING the everyday pleasures (I call helpers) we tend to overlook.
This post is a beautiful argument for doing just that. 🙌🏿
Been a while, glad this is out! 😊 reading now
Opening with a Didion quote is an instant subscribe from me and then you drop this: “Some pleasures cannot be substituted.” Delectable!!!!
I could go on and on about how different it is where I live but that's not the point. You are talking about how to live in the real moment and experience it with all senses and be grateful for the miracles...that is valuable everywhere. Thank you.
How is it different?
Hi Miguel, I think in terms of living in closed temperate-controlled homes or using public transport or the ability to grow their own food...but though life may be different the points you make about appreciating the moment are still valuable of course... 🙏
What a treat!! Probably one of my favourite in the wave of criticism of a life of conveniences. I dislike the hot, humid Summers in Asia (where I live) the most, but I suddenly felt like turning off the air-con and enjoying it somehow. Bookmarked and shared around.
Simon, I love this one. Just last week we ate the last tomato off our vines and it was terrific, and I’m already looking forward to the first ripe tomato next year. Now I’ll find some good winter squash to savor.
If you liked this, you’ll love the Art of Eating by MFK Fisher. She grabs your hand and plunges into the sensualities of life’s little pleasures
funny enough I just finished The Measure of Her Powers: An MFK Fisher Reader, earlier this year. It is a favorite book of my wife.