I listened to an interview with Tsunehiro Uno about his latest book, and he talked about the texture of one’s connection to society, as something in desparate need of nuance in today’s world of social media-fueled identity politics. The word he used was tezawari, which literally means “hand feel”.

The phrase brings a subjectivity to the idea of connection — a tactile quality requires a body to make contact with it — that made me try to put words as to why I’ve been enjoying my recent time in public spaces so much. (It’s not just because there are less people, which is the typical reason that Parisians give!)

In the past week, I had a drink along Paris Plages, caught a(nother) film at Cinema en plein air and walked among sunbathers at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. The first two are summer programming from the city of Paris, the latter is a public park with lots of grassy areas for people to sit on.

All of these sites are free of charge. All bodies are welcome and you don’t need to be a certain type to feel “in”. There are some rules and expectations to maintain harmony, and little visible policing. Just by virtue of their presence, each person has a right to be there and to enjoy it. These qualities culminate in a certain sense of acceptance and belonging — a connection to the larger whole that the world online cannot offer.

I think a big part of building a life in a city is about allowing your body to be in rhythm with this kind of public life. To participate, as I mentioned last week, and feel the texture of living among other people.

Partially? related: spending so much time reading books is turning my annoyance at the proliferation of AI stink on LinkedIn and certain parts of Substack and YouTube into revulsion. I’m simply observing this for now, not forcing any changes or experiments, but wondering about the implications of diverging levels of sensitivity…