How to Bring More Awe Into Your Life (Without Going to Space)

4 practical ways to make the ordinary feel extraordinary

Yi Shun Lai
Forge
Published in
6 min readJul 26, 2021

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Photo: Westend61/Getty Images

It was time to say goodbye to the Formica table that had graced my kitchen in Chicago, in New York and in suburban Los Angeles. The thing had so many memories tied to it, though — irrationally long dinners with friends; a brunch date with my friend Jo and her octogenarian aunt; countless letters penned on it — that I hoped it’d go to someone really cool.

I got lucky. S— answered my ad. Later, she sent me a text of my table looking happy in a corner of her home, with a plant on it and everything. We started following each other on Instagram. And then we became Facebook friends. I could see from the things she posted that we were well suited to each other. She likes architecture and Morro Rock, for instance. ME TOO!!

I could see us going to museums together one day. Or maybe the roller-skating rink. I suggested something like it, and S— quickly agreed, but then, the pandemic.

1950s-style chrome-and-Formica kitchen table in situ
It all started with a table that looked a little like this one. “kitchen table” by Huzzah Vintage is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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Yi Shun Lai
Yi Shun Lai

Written by Yi Shun Lai

Author: A SUFFRAGISTS’S GUIDE TO THE ANTARCTIC (2024), Pin Ups (2020). Former columnist, The Writer. theGooddirt.org Psst: Say “yeeshun.” You can do it!

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