November 19, 2024
A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a small book called Reading the Room. It’s a lightly edited series of conversations with Paul Yamazaki, the book buyer for the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. Founded in 1953 by the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights is one of America’s great bookstores. If you like books, bookstores, and how people think about books, I highly recommend Reading the Room - and if you’re ever in San Francisco, City Lights is worth a visit.
A line from Yamazaki that has stuck with me is “the pleasures of an inconsequential moment.” Yamazaki was talking about the time he spent a few minutes with Toni Morrison - the only time he ever met her - Morrison wandered into a conversation he was having, and they chatted for a few minutes. As Yamazaki said, “You leave yourself open to things, and you just don't know what's going to happen.
So much of what we do feels consequential (especially these last few weeks). We have meetings and classes, hear speakers, and gather in study groups. We talk about careers and the state of democracy. Everything is high stakes.
Yamazaki draws attention to enjoying the things that don’t seem to matter in the grand scheme of things but that may matter a great deal in your life. Relish the small joke you share with someone behind the counter at Western Market or the conversation in an elevator. That something seems inconsequential to the world does not mean that it is without consequence to you.
As you sprint toward Thanksgiving, final papers, final exams, and all of the other consequential things, pause. Smile at something unexpected. Trade pleasantries with someone in SMPA you might not otherwise talk to. Laugh at something silly.
Pay attention to the in-betweens, the gaps between things that matter. Take pleasure in the inconsequential.