The idea of hot girl summer? The idea that come the dog days of 2021, we'd all get scantily clad, or sauced up, or crowded among friends, or make out with strangers, or whatever else floated our respective boats?
It was so much for that. Lots of disappointment came with summer. People were upset that Hot Girl Summer wasn't good. VID didn't disappear. The country was on fire. We were tired.
I think the disappointment was caused by setting our sights too high. Plan for a gorgeous summer of excess and ease, anything but will be a let down.
We should drop all expectations as we move into the year of canceled plans, countless COVID variants, and the hot girl summer that wasn't. I mean it. I'm expecting nothing this year. I don't want to anticipate anything bad. A blank page. There is a void. The body is floating apart from the brain.
This may sound like a negative thing, but I suppose on some level it is. There is a sadness in abandoning the idea of a fixed calendar. The idea of control is lost in the sense of loss. It's hard to anticipate something good.
I'm trying to be like my dog. One moment to the next.
There's also beauty. Let me explain. Let me tell you about my dog.
I'm training him in all the dog things because he's a puppy, not even five months old. Positive reinforcement for good behavior, like sitting, peeing outside, and dropping one of the million things puppies try to eat but shouldn't, is the idea. You have to catch the good behavior and the bad behavior when training a dog, and tell the pup no as it happens. The dog needs to associate that moment with something. It's all confusion when the moment is gone. You give a treat a minute after the dog goes to the bathroom, and it might as well be a week after. Dogs are living moment to moment.
It's possible that Tweet has been deleted.
I'm trying to be like my dog. One moment to the next.
There is a counter culture idea from Ram Das that says to be here now. It's important to be where you are. I like that. I spent most of the year being elsewhere. I imagined what the holidays would look like. I was living for the weekend or my next vacation. I wondered when I could get a vaccine. I was hoping my wedding would happen. It did.
That is a great thing about having zero expectations. If you don't have to think about what might be, you can focus on what is. You might not be able to take that vacation because of the omicron variant. It's going to be a good sandwich, because you just made it, and it has salami, lettuce, and spicy peppers, and provolone cheese. This might be the best sandwich you've ever had, because it's salty and fresh, the seasoning hits your jowls, and the provolone is sharp.
I'm looking at the universe. I think you should as well. Give up and give up.
In June, I wrote about how the things that used to motivate us no longer apply. The world is burning so who gives a promotion while it is burning?
I wrote at that time.
mbition is a reflection of values. If all you're able to value is staying afloat, then your ambitions are severely limited.
It's possible that Tweet has been deleted.
It's an extension of the idea to make the year of no expectations. I would like to place our values in the moment. We have very little idea how things are going to progress, if everything from March 2020 onward has taught us anything. We can't change the past or the future, it's always been uncertain. Let go of the expectations and be where you are. You're not thinking of the good things to come but you are also not thinking of the bad things to come.
I will sit with myself in 2022. I plan to read a book in a hammock and feel the city breeze wash away the smell of summer garbage. I plan to watch dumb reality TV, but not at the same time. I plan to eat a really good sandwich and enjoy every last bite.
