Divine

I'm not a fan of diary-entry posts, but the past 24 hours have been so delicious, I want to write of nothing else.

It started last night, when I couldn't sleep. I didn't fall asleep until 7am this morning, in fact. For those of you who know me- that doesn't happen all that often. For many, insomnia is torture, and I understand that, but every once in a while, I think it's a gift. I think there are places our brains and hearts go to at night that they won't go in daylight, and every once in a while, it's vital that we visit those areas. As soon as I realized my mind wanted a night to itself, I didn't resist it- I gave it the whole night. I tossed and turned when my mind went over everything it's angry about, I cried when my sadness surfaced, I smiled when my fantasies played out in my head like movies, I hugged my pillow and hid under the sheets when my fears took over, I chased a mosquito around when I was too agitated to lie down, and I sat up in bed and stared at the shadows in the dark when my mind was empty.
I fell asleep around 7 and woke up at noon, feeling completely refreshed. After my mind had spent the whole night thinking everything it wanted to think about, it was free of its clutter and noise. It was quiet, and my heart was peacefully open.
I danced downstairs to the kitchen and started cooking- one of my absolute favorite things to do. I don't know why chopping vegetables fills me with such joy, but it does. I made soup for my family and went out to meet my friend Marina.
A word about Marina: She and I have been friends since we were four. Marina knows I love to tell people about how she is my oldest friend, about how we've known each other for 20 years. She is a friend I hold dearly in my heart and soul, and, being a fellow artist, she was the perfect person to spend this day with.
We went to MASP, a small museum in Sao Paulo. I love small museums more than anything. The beautiful MASP had three exquisite exhibits. One was of photographs by Walker Evans- which I found to be completely delicate and sensitive in their portrayal of America in the 1930's. Another was of Greek Mythological art- which I'm obsessed with so, needless to say, I loved it. And the last was of the history of 'the Portrait', which was fascinating in showing how the portrayal of a face has evolved from being photo-perfect to being a complete dismantling of realism.
How rare to go to a museum and love everything you see- I felt truly privileged.
Then we went to FNAC, a huge book and media store. I love huge crowded bookstores about as much as I love small empty museums. I'm strange like that. We sat at the cafe, I had two cappuccinos, then we wandered around, I bought two books and felt like I'd won a trophy. Books have that effect on me.
My day ended with a glass of red wine while watching a movie with my dad. Perfection never tasted so good.
As you can see, the past 24 hours have been a real gift- the first half dedicated to clearing my mind, and the second half to filling it with things I love. My brain is yet again filled with excitement about life, my soul is soaring, and I am smiling, which is, forgive me for boasting, absolutely divine.