How to host a dinner party
Or, how to fill the time that remains when you go offline
Hi there,
I’m back! Thank you for still having me.
Five things to share:
As I reflect on my time spent offline journey, I realize I am now preoccupied with a different kind of obsession than curating the perfect LinkedIn profile: Living in community. My friend got me a job anyway. The other option— without the followers and status updates— would have been, of course, to rot in isolation and loneliness. And that is what they said would happen if I got off social media. That I would be forgotten and nobody will remember to invite me to their dinner parties. Lies. Certain truth, sure, but mostly a lie. That’s what I found out for myself anyway. By giving myself no choice but to find alternatives to social media relationships, I have learned I can be social without social media, without the internet— more social in fact— and all it takes is a bit more effort to host my own dinner party. To send the text invites, figure out the meal, do the groceries, and clean and cook so I can delight in my IRL relationships.
A few delights from my two-week staycation mostly spent offline:
A birthday weekend spent outdoors with all the people I love, adore, admire. Feeling deeply loved, light, beautiful. Friendships are the most important thing we can cultivate in this lifetime.
A day spent at the beach solo, luxuriating in doing absolutely nothing. A book is a wonderful companion.
Hosting a dinner party for five and fitting all the love, laughter, delight in my tiny studio apartment; learning the importance of not waiting until I have a dining table to love on those I love. A meal made with love will do.
Finding yet another alternative to music consumption: AccuRadio and their Summertime Channel of the Day playlists. The radio has been great for avoiding the paradox of choice and enjoying whatever is on.
A quote I want to share with you:
The measure of mental health is the disposition to find good everywhere.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (Source)
Happiness is the deliberate directing of our attention to what is good and useful. Some good and useful things to direct your attention to: Nature, love, friendships, beauty, good art.
Technology at the table: Keep it in your pants.
A challenge for you: Make a list of all the people you love, adore, admire in your life. Make another list of ways you can spend more time with them. Throw out the list. Why? To-dos are boring but it’s fun to remember who you love and think about ways you can love on them more.
P.s. If you like time spent offline the newsletter, please consider spending more time offline ♡
That’s all for this week!
Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.
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Until next time,
Mehret