May Prompts to Cleanse the Palate
8 prompts to inspire a spoonful of sorbet, a cold plunge, an unplug-replug
Once upon a time I was on a road trip with friends. A few nights in, we rented an old farmhouse somewhere near Woodstock. We were sitting on the front porch drinking cocktails when the neighbor’s kid bolted into the yard and wordlessly ran up to us, sucking on a lemon. No further details are relevant…other than every so often my friends and I will just text: “the lemon sucker.”
Lately I’ve been feeling a need to cleanse the palate; to refresh, reawaken, remember. To take a hit of citrus, to jump into cold water, to do something simple yet effective. To remember that to live is not to aspire for divine consistency but to harness a contact high in the liminal in-between.
Recently on a marketing call with [insert redacted brand name here], the half-awake investor arbitrarily chimed in, “Talk to the customer about a spring refresh. That will always sell.”
One…ew.
Two…I guess the player gets played.
May Prompts to Cleanse the Palate
THE NORMAN BREAK
There’s a traditional Normandy digestif known as “The Norman Break”—a fiery shot of Calvados served in the middle of the meal, meant as a quick and hard-hitting stimulant between courses.
Recall a recent time when a long, drawn-out experience was broken up by a wildly unexpected intermission, punctuating pause, or stimulating interlude.
MOVING THE FURNITURE
Identify something familiar you can renew through the simple act of reconfiguration.
“LIFE IS MEALS,”
wrote James Salter.
If life is a coursed-out meal, assign one to your current chapter. Maybe you’re feeling amid appetizer-like beginnings; in a cozy dessert moment; out-and-about a la aperitif; settled as a state of mind (…the main course?)
TONGUE SCRAPER
What is lingering…and getting worse by the day? Can you rid your life of it (for now, at least)?
SELF-DIRECTED SABBATICAL
Sometimes you have to walk away to clean the slate. If you could step outside of your routine for a week to clear out the mental cobwebs, what would you do? Where would you be? Set the scene.
COLD PLUNGE
Lemon sorbet, art exhibitions, ice baths, headstands, poetry, ocean dips, a city walk at night. Make a list of what resets you.
HOT ONES
When did something “cleansing” go too far? Recall a time when you tried to do something out of the norm…and it didn’t exactly go to plan.
PALATE FATIGUE
Via Reddit:
Identify something in your life that is hitting the same note too hard, too often. How or where can you add lemon?
Until next month!
LP
This MUCH NEEDED. Just got laid off and suddenly, I am forced to make the art I said I would. What a lemon. Thanks for the palate cleanser!
Loved this!! LOVE!