My Joy List
June 11th-16th: dinner in a greenhouse, visits from my angels, mini blueberry muffins, & surprises-galore
You’re reading a newsletter from Syd, an NYC-born gal who quit her “golden handcuffs” job and moved to Amsterdam to follow her heart’s calls for a path less traveled. Here, I share the challenges and wins of my own journey from people pleasing & perfectionism to authenticity, balance, joy, & freedom. Beyond this page, I coach fellow high achievers along their own journey. I also share their stories in a podcast, The Path Less Traveled. You may find comfort, empowerment, inspiration, and/or community. Welcome 🫶🏻
Hi sunshiney ones!
Holy moly, I just learned this is my 100th newsletter :’) Pretty neat! Pretty wild! Thanks for being here with me. I feel really proud of my sustained commitment to show up as authentically as possible here.
My birthday last week was wonderful. The way I navigated the day really reinforced for me how much our happiness is in our own hands.
My birthday was a Wednesday. I made sure to keep my calendar clear, but A had to go to the office. My closest friends and family in the U.S. were asleep for the first six hours of my day, so I wasn’t getting texts or calls from them (though I woke up to some spectacular texts from friends who reached out at midnight in Amsterdam :)).
I could’ve easily let myself get down about being alone for a big chunk of my birthday.
But, instead, the day before, I paused and asked myself: what’s going to make me feel alive and special tomorrow?
Similar to last year, the answer I heard was, “Adventure. Something out of the norm.”
I’ve been wanting to take a random canal cruise on a beautiful day for months. Every time I see boats on the canal, which is… every single day… I say, “ah, I’d love to be on a boat on the canals right now.” But I never do it.
Same with aerial yoga. I tried it about two years ago in San Diego and adored it. But I haven’t done it since. I’ve looked up the studios in Amsterdam, looked at the schedules, but never followed through on the class.
So, for my birthday, I did those things.
I took a canal cruise at 9:15am to kick things off. The canals were stunning and quiet. I joyfully became a quasi-tour guide to the American tourists on the boat (seeds for a future gig!?!). I then picked up a sandwich and slice of stellar hazelnut chocolate babka from Saint Jean, one of my favorite bakeries, to take on a picnic in the park with Rubs.
After, I went to my first Amsterdam aerial yoga class. I ran in late in a tizzy, ready to be denied entry, but, instead, I walked into a room of calm. Me and three other women leisurely lingered around in the sun-drenched studio while the instructor used a pole to knock the knotted purple aerial hammocks out of their tight balls at the ceiling. They all unraveled so gracefully. After a 10 minute warm up on yoga mats, we got into the hammocks. Within minutes, I was lifting myself up and twirling myself around, remembering how challenging but invigorating aerial yoga feels in my body and soul.
As I biked home, I thought about how cool it was that I hadn’t spent time with anybody I knew in several hours, and yet, I felt so connected and in community thanks to these open-hearted interactions with strangers. I was having a really lovely birthday.
When I got home, we hopped in the car and drove to my favorite beach, Noordwijk. I got my feet in the water and as I looked at the horizon, I felt so freaking free. I looked back at Rubs running around like the happy girl she is and A smiling, watching both her and me.
For dinner, we went to one of the most special restaurants in Amsterdam, De Kas. After, we hit a wonderful tiny jazz bar we love, Jazz Cafe Alto, for a little live music.
I went to bed smiling, feeling incredibly grateful for all of the ways A made me feel like a princess, and also for all of the ways I made myself feel like a princess.
Our happiness is in our hands.
Loads of pics below, including a smattering from moments I didn’t capture in writing!
Other thoughts/ideas I’m mulling:
how often am i evaluating how im living as opposed to living?
one thing at a time.
Now, let’s get into the tiny moments that made the aforementioned events so joyful! The stars of the show. Happy joy spotting :)
Joy spotting: the practice of noticing little moments of joy surrounding us all the time (more)
telling the tourists on my morning canal cruise fun facts about life in Amsterdam
the calmness and quietness of the canals
arriving home from the cruise to a dining table covered in bouquets and birthday cards
the lady bug that landed on my hand on my birthday while picnicking with Rubs
feeling the strength of my arms as I pulled myself into the air on the aerial yoga hammock
making eye contact and smiling with the aerial yoga teacher
two of my fellow aerial yoga classmates massaging my hands to end class
riding on the bike with my arms around A on our long ride to De Kas
the fluffy herbed butter and sourdough + tapioca crackers and green dip to start our meal
the woman next to us arriving with a bouquet of flowers for her soon-to-arrive dinner date
the waiter bringing over a vase of water for said bouquet
the birthday card and jar of honey arriving to our table mid-meal from the De Kas team
Watching Rubs interact with and take a liking to Kuma at Pet Emporium
Elysa gifting me a pet emporium tote bag
Rubs smiling at me with her fab new blue bandana on
Rubs bringing her lobster over to me over and over to tug and fetch
the contrast of my pretty gingham linen dress with my very dirty hands and feet on my picnic with Rubs
accepting Rubs and I would be very dirty
Finishing my morning pages and coffee and A Greens before Rubs woke up
Spontaneously bringing Rubs over to the market first thing to say hello to Hannah and Rosa
Commiserating with the man at the market with a 9 week old daschund in a sling about life with such a little puppy
The woman from the nut stand chasing after me to gift me a package of nut-decorated napkins
Shanti shockingly pulling out a birthday cake from A for me at the market
The man unlocking his bike next to me, smiling at Rubs in her bike carrier on our way to the park
When rubs put her head down on the yellow pillow and relaxed next to me while I rubbed her belly
The lady bug crawling up our tree the moment my eyes turned to it as I ate dinner alone on the balcony
Lighting the candles on my surprise chocolate cake and singing myself happy birthday
The smiles people are giving us when they see rubs as we walk past them
The smell of the jasmine bush on my walk with Rubs
The way rubs happily runs off in excitement after I give her an ice cube
Seeing the jasmine vines from across the street
May you pick one joyful thing you’ve been putting off and make it your #1 priority this week. May we not save these moments for just one day of the year. Big hug from me to you <3
Love,
Syd