The aesthetic is the meal

meaningful ways to appreciate the aesthetic of life

Shade Cactus is a subscriber-supported newsletter of habitual travel adventures, poetry, and other lovely ways to appreciate the aesthetic. I appreciate you!

The aesthetic is everything

Do you take precious time to angle the book on your shelf just so?

Does your Pinterest board shout in loud colors?

Do you have a favorite candle scent?

Do you worship the written word?

At the beginning of this year, I chose my Word of the Year. This is a practice I partake in every winter in anticipation of the new year. Some previous words of the year I’ve worked into my life were ones like trust, create, curiosity, adventure, and warmth.

This year’s word is Aesthetic.

This is what I’ve learned in recent years: the aesthetic of life isn’t a cherry on top. It’s not the bonus French fry or the sprinkle of fairy dust on life. The aesthetic is everything.

The aesthetic is how I dress, write, read, and move. It’s also the muscle of noticing: learning to discern various bird songs or note the extra gray hair that’s threaded onto my dog’s back. Throughout this year, I’ve discovered more and more meaningful ways to appreciate my life's aesthetic. Cultivating a style all my own has drilled into me how much beauty has to exist outside of function.

Living for the aesthetic is what makes life worth living. Beauty for beauty’s sake. And the best part? It’s all 100% personal. And changes day to day. You define what aesthetic means to you. And I define what it means to me. And isn’t that just beautiful?

More than a mindset

I used to be a minimalist (yes, when it became trendy) and that certainly helped me when I moved into a school bus full-time.

Living minimally is no longer how I define my lifestyle; instead, I consider myself an “intentionalist.” I consider with great care whether to bring any possession (physical, digital, you name it) into my life, heart, or home.

And yeah, I think this is a great habit! Thanks, past Jordan!

As with everything, however, there is a shadow side to this mentality. In recent years, I’ve noticed a fear of purchasing anything (seriously, anything, such as a muffin tin, pair of pants, or bedside cabinet).

And yes, this can actually be seen as a really good thing! This anxiousness helps me to live within my means and focus on experiences rather than material possessions. (Nothing we haven’t heard before.) It also aligns with the values of sustainability, and not overly contributing to consumerism.

But when it keeps me from having enough pairs of underwear to make it through the week, it’s gone too far.

Recently, I was discussing with my friend Michelle (whom I highly recommend anyone subscribe to!) about how I discovered the practice of book annotation. You can check it out on Pinterest if you’re interested, but as a practice, I immediately felt I couldn’t participate because I couldn’t justify buying the pretty sticky notes others use. Why add this to my home, mind, and bank statement when I could just do without?

Because it’s lovely! It’s aesthetically pleasing. It’s joy for joy’s sake.

And I needed the reminder that my purchasing sticky notes from my local bookstore is not what is going to destroy the planet. I can have my sticky notes and read my book, too.

What this came down to, ultimately, was learning to believe that I deserved to have beautiful things in my life simply because I wanted them.

I believe women are taught that loving beautiful things is frivolous and feminine (like that’s a bad word). But aesthetic practices, things, and ideas can be gorgeous, intense, enamoring, engaging, chilling, and cozy. We all deserve to enjoy our version of the aesthetic.

Witchy, aesthetic living room, decorated for Halloween (little familiar included)

More than material

Clothing, mountain peaks, writing workshops, tea cups, poetry books, candles, fancy dinners, and perfectly placed Halloween decorations are a few of the smile-inspiring things that have made it into my life this year simply because I think they’re aesthetic.

Fun fact: aesthetic is both a noun and an adjective. So, you could say you have an aesthetic aesthetic, which I certainly believe I do!

In previous years, “wellness” or “health” were defining characteristics or practices I focused on for my life. And yeah, I still do. I go to yoga, write my morning pages (sometimes), take my daily vitamins, eat lots of vegetables, and get in my yearly wellness check-ups at the clinic. But if I’m being honest, even those practices are defined by my aesthetic yearnings. I want a morning writing space that makes me feel like Jane Austen. I want vibrant, colorful vegetables I purchased at the farmer’s market, chopping them up while listening to the new Noah Kahan album. I want an OBGYN office with pastel-colored chairs and art prints hung on the walls.

I want the vibe.

Some practices for appreciating the aesthetic

• Journal some beautiful moments you notice throughout the week
  Notice your partner’s new haircut, the oddly shaped carrot, your neighborhood Halloween decorations, or the tree whose leaves are slightly pinker today than yesterday.

• Try some new clothes to reinvent your style
  As mentioned above, I have a hard time buying things, and genuinely abhor shopping; so if you’re like me, learning I can rent clothes for a few weeks at a time was a game-changer. I use Nuuly. Not an ad, I just love it.

• Read a new book of poetry
  Some of my recent favorites: You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson, A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush, and You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limón (this last one is a collection of many poets if you want a smorgasbord of delicious, aesthetic writing). Bonus: write a poem inspired by one of the poems you read!

• Take a class to learn something new
  Painting, poetry, dancing, candle making… I could go on, but you know what it is you’ve been wanting to try.

• Take photos to have, not to share
  And to be clear, you can absolutely share them if you want to! But there’s something about snapping photos for yourself that builds that muscle of noticing the aesthetic world around you.

Comment below one way you plan to appreciate (and cultivate!) the aesthetic in your life.