Hey Reader,
My mood fluctuates with the weather so much that I sometimes start to question my reality.
Gosh, what’s that? I didn’t mean to write that.
But waking up to “feels like 6 degrees” on Mother’s Day is not something I want to design my life for.
There’s no sun. The street is empty. People are still in winter clothes, which seems to be the only appropriate uniform for London in May.
Even the people sitting next to me, who seem to be from here, felt the cold.
“How are you?” the lady asked her friend warmly.
“I don’t know. It’s just cold.”
“Put your cashmere on. It helps”
Alright.
What I really wanted to write about is the list I started yesterday.
You know the kind that just flows from your head onto the page, or in this case, onto my reMarkable. By the way, the reMarkable might be the best ice-breaker I own. Everywhere I take it out, people want to try it.
Here’s the list.
Grateful for:
- The sunlight on my face while waiting for a RIDE class on a Saturday morning
- The feeling of creating something beautiful
- The feeling of summer approaching (I wrote that yesterday, when it was 17 degrees)
- A proper coffee and a comfortable seat at my local café
- A clear plan for the afternoon, with 30 minutes extra before working just to read a book
- The scent of Dragon & Roses, a perfume sample I was skeptical of while picking up another one from Etat Libre d’Orange. Dragon & Roses is the Chinese translation; the official name is Eau de Protection. No wonder I felt both protected and fresh, like the story on their webpage said: “This magic potion, this instrument of transformation, could only be made by the crushing of armfuls of roses.” Maybe that’s the scent I seek when I’m seeking protection for myself.
- Finding a simple place to sit in warm lighting when everywhere else was closed.
As I wrote these down, I realized how much of what I’m grateful for has nothing to do with my day-to-day to-do list.
In fact, this past week was one of the most productive I’ve had.
The new season of Bite-Size Climate Tech is ready to launch. A new Claude Study Journal video is live on YouTube. Conversations for new clients. Sponsorship leads. Real motion.
And still, when I sat down to write what made me happy, the list was made of sunlight, scent, coffee, quiet, and a seat with warm lighting.
Maybe that’s a good thing.
Maybe I’m getting better at noticing the little things and capturing them.
I’m still enduring the emotional rollercoaster of designing a life from scratch, but I’m getting a little quicker at noticing the fall before it takes over my whole nervous system.
After all, our attention has limits. Better to spend some of it on the beautiful things.
A couple of weeks ago, I listened to a NYT podcast episode about the show Every Brilliant Thing. I think that’s part of why I was able to write this list. Daniel Radcliffe, Mariska Hargitayand the Happiest List on Earth
As the interview ended, this sentence stayed with me:
“Isn’t that the way life goes? We laugh, we cry, and life is hard, but it’s also so joyful, if you can see it.”
I’ll end it here.
I hope you can see a few brilliant things today, even on a 6-degree Sunday in May.
For the moms out there, happy Mother’s Day.
For the children out there, and we are all a child of someone, don’t forget to send a message to your mom.
Lydia
P.S. I’ve also been writing longer pieces over at The First 60 Days, if you ever want more:https://lydiaclinzi.substack.com/. No pressure. Whenever you want.
A few things from my little corner of the internet
If you’re building, connecting, or trying to make your work easier to explain:
- Networking Co-Pilot: for turning event conversations into better follow-ups: https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/networking-co-pilot
- Personal Legibility Sprint: for shaping a clearer personal landing page or “what I do” story: https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/future-lab/legibility-sprint
- Lovable: the tool I’ve been using to build and test websites quickly: https://lovable.dev/invite/U0M8D9C
- Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 5: if you’d like to support the new season: https://www.dayzeroproduction.com/bite-size-climate-tech/support
No pressure. Just small doors, in case one is useful.
