I spoke to Nick this morning, and after we had finished, I noticed I was happy and somehow more alive. It had not been a particularly deep or intimate conversation; quite the opposite, in fact. We talked mostly about daily rates, about consultancy engagements, about networks and change management. And yet somehow I had been uplifted by our encounter.
I have a few different Nicks in my life (three of them are actually called Nick, which is convenient; maybe I just have a thing for Nicks?). And after I had spoken to this particular Nick, for a moment I wondered, might happiness be quite simple? Spend time with people who leave you feeling good?
Probably not. But it’s worth thinking about it, isn’t it? Noticing how different people affect your mood and your energy.
Relatedly, I spent the afternoon with my kids, and I noticed: fucking hell this is boring. And I realised how much I was fighting that. You’re not allowed to find your kids boring, right? You can find them difficult or tiring, but it’s somehow not on to be bored by them.
But I was bored, dear reader. Rahi and I had built a funicular railway this a.m. with thread and cardboard boxes, and he wanted to move them up and down. Anaya wanted me to watch her jump on the sofa, and then she joined Rahi in wanting to move cardboard boxes up and down relatively taut thread.
This kind of thing is charming for a while, and often I am charmed by it. But today the excitement palled. Life, I could not help feeling, had more to offer than an admittedly cute pair of children moving cardboard boxes around. Hegel (via Carl Sagan) thinks that I am the universe made conscious of itself. Is my light to be used to observe empty cartons sliding along string?