- places to explore on foot / long walks in the shade of towering conifers
- music that I not only love and find aesthetically beautiful, but that also gives me a sense of transcendence.
- being near bodies of water
- coffee (morning, afternoon)
- listening intently to someone very smart every once in a while (conversations, lectures, podcasts)
- being listened to every once in a while
- being able to express myself with verbal fluency, and understanding everything I hear in response without impediment (during at least half of my waking hours)
- being seen and understood as approximately what and who I am
- time to work, read, write think and reflect without interruption
- times when I am completely alone
- quiet
- reading. learning.
- lobsters at least once a year
- light
- knowing what to do as well as when and how to do it (feeling competent) every once in a while
- having my incompetence, mistakes and weaknesses met with compassion
- having certain days on which I can sleep in and on which I can spend 0 seconds putting makeup on my face
- autumn at least once a year
- old brick buildings
- a few people who love and accept that these are the things I need
Some of these surely sound trite or obvious or entitled and privileged (oh fuck am I aware of how privileged some of these expectations make me) but they are, aside from basic bodily imperatives, the things I need to feel human. Some are more important than others (I think I might still feel like a person without ever eating lobster again), but there you have it. I think we can sum it up thusly: nature, a sense of belonging, solitude.
