Let’s say ‘yes’ to everything for as long as we can.
– Paul Child’s Character, Julia, Episode 8
Is anyone else watching Julia?
It’s a warm and witty retelling of the very human backstory of Julia Child’s unlikely success: begging a public tv station to give her show a chance and promising to pay for the production—and groceries—out of pocket, nearly getting ditched by her publisher, and grappling with the shifting landscape of social change along the way.
If you saw last week’s season finale perhaps Paul’s line about saying yes grabbed you like it did me. In the episode, it seemed there was a choice to be made between two good things until Paul—who you absolutely must meet—reminded her how much life there is in saying yes. To both things.
Not one good thing: both. Because both were equally life-giving. Because both were possible.
We’re not encouraged to embrace life this way. I see too many people grab for a default “no” in response to any activity or opportunity lacking an objective beyond personal joy or satisfaction.
We’re conditioned to say no to the best parts of our lives when we’re actually hardwired for yeses. While the word yes still frequently falls from our lips, it’s being said in response to the wrong things.
The “yeses” we’re talking about here aren’t to obligations. The yes lifestyle I’m advocating for isn’t about adding more to our already full schedules. I’m promoting yeses to the things that give us life: yeses with the power to guide us to the things that make us whole and complete. As many yeses as we can for as long as we can.
The yes life is not just about big moves (although the concept applies there, too) but welcoming as many sweet extras as possible into each day. Yes to reading –even just a chapter–from that just-for-fun book with the thin-but-quirky plot. Yes to coffee with a friend. Yes to playing ball with the dog. Yes to that long weekend. Yes. Yes. Yes.
What can you say yes to today? It’s a question packed with the power to open inner portals to the truest version of ourselves. It’s a three letter word with the potential to unlock our passions and tap into the things that truly make us tick.
Julia Child’s yeses unlocked the secrets of the kitchen for millions of people and now, nearly two decades after her death she’s resonating with a new generation for reasons that land far beyond the dining room table. The real magic Julia served up was her authentic self: warbly voice, haphazard techniques and unscripted commentary. A legacy of yeses that left us with a story of a middle-aged woman who believed in the good things in life –big dreams, later-in-life ambition, and souffle. Because sometimes, the thing we need to say yes to is, simply, dessert.
What’s happening with the book?
I answer this question a lot in daily life, but I realized I haven’t been good about updating YOU –the wonderful people who actually subscribe to my hijinks— about my publishing process.
One of the reasons I’ve been a less-than-stellar correspondent is because of all the exciting happenings with the book! Since my last newsletter, the book has been through a copy edit, typesetting, proofreading and—most exciting—a cover design! And I’ve been working behind the scenes on some pretty big projects that I will be sharing those with you over the coming weeks.
In the meantime…want to see that cover?
