a month of slow living. plus books, films, essays, recipes, conversations, journal entries, and slowly developed dispatches from a serious slow living philosopher.
I work in a lab, so most of my days are pretty routine: running samples, troubleshooting equipment, answering emails, and trying to stay awake during meetings. I don’t usually read long posts after work, but this one pulled me in more than I expected.
The part that stayed with me most was the section on conversations. I have these random, genuinely interesting talks with coworkers that start about work and end up somewhere completely unexpected, and then I forget them almost immediately because I’m already moving on to the next thing.
I’ve been trying to slow down, but mostly in the superficial sense. Making a nicer breakfast, taking longer walks, buying a better coffee grinder, that sort of thing. Staying with a thought and letting it unfold is like the right way to do it but we don't, haha.
I’m not an arty person, but I ended up noticing things in the painting I wouldn’t have caught on my own. The strange stillness, the hidden tension, the objects inside other objects. I also loved the mini essays and hope you will share more down the line. The power sections, FDR. The weakness one hit too, mostly because you didn’t try to wrap it up neatly or excuse anything.
TULIPE. I've been trying to incorporate slow living into my life for months, and this made me realize everything I was doing wrong. Slowness isn't just slowly sipping your tea and annotating your books, it's being fully present, paying attention, lingering, revisiting the same thought until it unfolds a little. Your mini-essays felt like micro-meditations I never give myself the space to do anymore. My memory is so chaotic, and I hardly make time to truly think and stay with something. The section on conversations was my favorite. We all have these brilliant, fleeting talks with friends that evaporate into the ether because we're too busy to sit with them. The way you journaled them, named them, and drew meaning from them makes me want to bring back the ancient ritual of… actually remembering things. Also, PARTY FOR MARTY!!!! I HAD NO IDEA RBG HAD SUCH AN AWESOME HUSBAND. GIVES ME HOPE AGAINST THE DAVID HARBORS AND FDRS OF THE WORLD!!!
Omg Tulipe, the serious philosopher. I just want you to know I devoured every single line of this, even the recipes. It’s rare to find writing that feels like it was written by a person I want to be friends with. I am inspired to start my own postcards. It's just so genuinely thought about throughout. The mini-essays were incredible, your honesty, and the section on conversations?? Besides needing new friends, I think I also need the courage to be funny. Also, love the art section. Your description of the Dutch family painting was so vivid I had to go stare at the image for ten minutes just to see everything you saw. Also, I hope you keep these monthly postcards long, layered, personal, philosophical, chaotic, funny, yourself as this is the kind of stuff that makes Substack feel worth it.
Loved how you described that "want-not really" power. I notice that too much power given to women who grind so hard in a man-dominated world shatters their femininity and robs them of what they were given by nature.
Again, I'm not saying that women can't pursue careers in corporate or political worlds (all power to you, girl!). But we can't deny the high percentage of women who, by the time they reach that height on the career ladder, feel more miserable than they did before that.
Tulipe!!! This read like the world’s most charming cross between a monthly field report, a Victorian commonplace book, and an undergrad seminar taught by someone who actually likes teaching. I love how you weave Aristotle, Dutch paintings, gratitude psychology, parasocial fame, and trout roe on buttered toast into one coherent tapestry — it’s the mind of a modern philosopher, but with better lighting and better snacks. The Wilde vs. Henry James section made me so jealous of your friend group. I haven’t had a conversation like that in years. And your point about power — especially the FDR bit — was so cleanly argued it could pass as a lecture excerpt.
I work in a lab, so most of my days are pretty routine: running samples, troubleshooting equipment, answering emails, and trying to stay awake during meetings. I don’t usually read long posts after work, but this one pulled me in more than I expected.
The part that stayed with me most was the section on conversations. I have these random, genuinely interesting talks with coworkers that start about work and end up somewhere completely unexpected, and then I forget them almost immediately because I’m already moving on to the next thing.
I’ve been trying to slow down, but mostly in the superficial sense. Making a nicer breakfast, taking longer walks, buying a better coffee grinder, that sort of thing. Staying with a thought and letting it unfold is like the right way to do it but we don't, haha.
I’m not an arty person, but I ended up noticing things in the painting I wouldn’t have caught on my own. The strange stillness, the hidden tension, the objects inside other objects. I also loved the mini essays and hope you will share more down the line. The power sections, FDR. The weakness one hit too, mostly because you didn’t try to wrap it up neatly or excuse anything.
Looking forward to the next postcard.
TULIPE. I've been trying to incorporate slow living into my life for months, and this made me realize everything I was doing wrong. Slowness isn't just slowly sipping your tea and annotating your books, it's being fully present, paying attention, lingering, revisiting the same thought until it unfolds a little. Your mini-essays felt like micro-meditations I never give myself the space to do anymore. My memory is so chaotic, and I hardly make time to truly think and stay with something. The section on conversations was my favorite. We all have these brilliant, fleeting talks with friends that evaporate into the ether because we're too busy to sit with them. The way you journaled them, named them, and drew meaning from them makes me want to bring back the ancient ritual of… actually remembering things. Also, PARTY FOR MARTY!!!! I HAD NO IDEA RBG HAD SUCH AN AWESOME HUSBAND. GIVES ME HOPE AGAINST THE DAVID HARBORS AND FDRS OF THE WORLD!!!
Omg Tulipe, the serious philosopher. I just want you to know I devoured every single line of this, even the recipes. It’s rare to find writing that feels like it was written by a person I want to be friends with. I am inspired to start my own postcards. It's just so genuinely thought about throughout. The mini-essays were incredible, your honesty, and the section on conversations?? Besides needing new friends, I think I also need the courage to be funny. Also, love the art section. Your description of the Dutch family painting was so vivid I had to go stare at the image for ten minutes just to see everything you saw. Also, I hope you keep these monthly postcards long, layered, personal, philosophical, chaotic, funny, yourself as this is the kind of stuff that makes Substack feel worth it.
You are hilarious. The mini essays are so funny. I love this postcard.
I enjoyed reading your philosophical essays!
Loved how you described that "want-not really" power. I notice that too much power given to women who grind so hard in a man-dominated world shatters their femininity and robs them of what they were given by nature.
Again, I'm not saying that women can't pursue careers in corporate or political worlds (all power to you, girl!). But we can't deny the high percentage of women who, by the time they reach that height on the career ladder, feel more miserable than they did before that.
Tulipe!!! This read like the world’s most charming cross between a monthly field report, a Victorian commonplace book, and an undergrad seminar taught by someone who actually likes teaching. I love how you weave Aristotle, Dutch paintings, gratitude psychology, parasocial fame, and trout roe on buttered toast into one coherent tapestry — it’s the mind of a modern philosopher, but with better lighting and better snacks. The Wilde vs. Henry James section made me so jealous of your friend group. I haven’t had a conversation like that in years. And your point about power — especially the FDR bit — was so cleanly argued it could pass as a lecture excerpt.