A gentle close to the week

With 7 things that made life slightly better / Issue 1,144

Oh, hi friends!

If your failures outnumbered your successes this week, you will try again.

If your words were inadequate or halting, you will find new ones.

If your actions didn’t align with your thoughts, you will have another chance.

Gently close the week by accepting — and by looking forward.

The leaves are turning and the horses are posing in Central Park.

7 Things That Made Life Slightly Better This Week

• I had a conversation with my friend Florencia Iriondo, ostensibly for my Do It Today podcast, but it doubled as a necessary creative redirection. She is performing her wonderful musical South night after night, and hearing about her joy and process was encouraging and inspiring. Remember, you don’t have to start a podcast to call your friends! (Can’t wait to share this conversation with you.)

• Listening to the audiobook of Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl has been without question the most meaningful hours of my week.

• Hearing that Hurley Winkler, writer of the Lonely Victories Substack, got a literary agent is the kind of news that makes me grin ear to ear.

• Coming home from a play the other night, I turned to Colin and said, “Let’s get Shake Shack.” And so we did. That burger still does not disappoint.

• If you have an iPhone, go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits. Midweek I set a limit of 30 minutes for Instagram, 10 minutes for Facebook, and 30 minutes for Safari every day. Small task, major impact. Life-changing.

• I like efficiency in most things, but I love efficiency in cooking. @traderjoes5itemsorless is an Instagram account featuring meals using five items or less. (Brought from Trader Joe’s, of course.) So good!

• Finally, I was running in the park on Wednesday morning, and a little white dog darted on the dirt path ahead of me. I wiggled my fingers and said “hello” to him, as I do with dogs, and his human mother said, “There’s another!” She turned, and I saw a second little white dog in a backpack nestled on her back. “Wow!” I said and waved to him too, and kept hustling forward. But again she said, “There’s another!” And as I turned my attention back on the dirt path, there was a third little white dog, trotting after his two siblings, leash trailing behind him. What a joyful moment, experiencing three happy dogs, each more delightful and surprising than the last. And a reminder that you never know what might be coming around the corner.

Have a gentle weekend, friends. Sending you a big hug.