Hello,

I was absolutely fascinated by this National Geographic article, “Feeling nostalgic? Your brain is hardwired to crave it.” Some highlights: Nostalgia gives people a feeling of warmth, fondness, control, and belonging; Movies and music easily trigger nostalgia; nostalgic experiences can be particularly comforting during stressful times; many researchers believe that the pandemic is driving the current interest in nostalgic experiences.

This week, my daughters and I traveled to my hometown of Kansas City for our annual summer visit. The very first day, as always, we went to Winstead’s diner for a meal. Nostalgia! I remember eating at Winstead’s when I was five years old, after a school holiday program. In a few days, my whole family is going to see the Barbie movie. One reason for the popularity of that movie is surely the feelings of nostalgia that it evokes.

For a little music-inspired nostalgia, check out the aptly named website, The Nostalgia Machine. You choose a year, and the site displays the most popular songs for that year, along with thumbnails that you can click to listen. It’s addictive.

Onward,

5 Things Making Me Happy

I’m always so interested to see the covers of my books from around the world. Can you guess which book this is? It’s the Dutch edition of Life in Five Senses.

Nothing is more fun than an optical illusion, and a thoughtful reader sent me this one. Like “the dress” that looks either white-and-gold or black-and-blue, it’s a surprising illustration of how much light matters to our perception of color.

As someone who drinks huge amounts of coffee, I was surprised that I’d never encountered this before: a coffee bag. Like a tea bag, but for coffee. Is this a new thing?

I love the idea of “visible storage” (when a museum stores objects so that they can be seen instead of being hidden), so I was intrigued by reading that architect David Chipperfield has rows of glass storage units running through his apartment so that all his stored items can be seen. I want more photos! But I have to admit, this system wouldn’t work for my family and me; we wouldn’t have the discipline to keep everything attractively arranged.

Can you spot the almost-hidden figures? I love these two paintings in the Met, where it takes a minute to figure out what’s being depicted. From the American Wing: Robert Reid’s “Fleur de Lis” and John Singer Sargent’s “The Hermit.”

Updates

• Oscar Wilde once said, “Nothing can cure the soul but the senses,” and that’s a sentiment I explored last week in a virtual event with the self-betterment brand, Silk + Sonder. We discussed how we can use the senses to nurture ourselves, and guided participants through an exercise to create a Five-Senses Portrait. Missed it? You can watch the recording here. And if you’re intrigued to start using one of the exceptional journals from Silk + Sonder, you can find them here.

Featured

ARTICLE

How Regret Can Make Us Happier

PODCAST

A Little Happier: I’m Going to Take This Thing Home, Because Otherwise Someone Else Might Steal It