The Sounds She Collected is a newsletter about mixtapes and mixed emotions. Thanks for being part of this hive mind for empathetic, hopeful people.
I sunk into the warm, buttery-soft massage table. Deep sigh. The pull in my neck that flared out of nowhere—after a night of deep sleep during which I didn’t move at all—the ever-present knot that’s snaked around my back for the past decade, the tired ache of my feet all demanding attention. Would a stranger’s kneading take the stress away?
“Is the table too warm? Let me know, we can always adjust.” She echoed this sentiment as she slid a bolster beneath my shins. “Is this comfortable? We can always adjust.”
Throughout the next 60 minutes, that phrase echoed in my mind as a new and unexpected mantra. We can always adjust. We can always adjust! We can always adjust.
Perhaps it was the recovering perfectionist in me, but I had a tendency to finish what I started, like staying on a path for too long or attempting to listen to every episode of a podcast. I’ve set plans in stone that the universe promptly laughs at and changes. It’s a nice reminder to know that we can always adjust and choose to make that adjustment. We are not beings on a fixed course in time and space.
Lately, adjustments have involved carving out small slices of joy. Bursting heirloom tomatoes. Watching bumblebees hum along. Taking in a full skyline view at night, city lights glittering. Finding a poem that seeps into your soul upon first reading. Life can contain multitudes—it’s not all bad, and it’s not all good. And that has to be enough.
This week’s playlist, on a rooftop overlooking the city, is inspired by the mesmerizing glow of a city at night. May it allow you to zoom out on the nuances of your own life and just enjoy being for a little while. Make all the adjustments you need.
Until we meet again,
Sarah
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Bookmark a good read: What This Feeling Is
Something to remember: “If you have stage fright, it never goes away. But then I wonder—is the key to that magical performance because of the fear?” —Stevie Nicks