Papa Shanghai´s Takeout

All-organic weirdness

Page 27 of 34

Weekly state: weightless.

Good evening, it’s your favourite cloud!

Can you see me? I am here, floating in that tiny corner inside your room. I am small, but present.

You know, sometimes I wonder how this all started. How it all came to be, that I am immaterial and you are there, in all your glory? Who’s really detached? Is it me, just made up of some rather strange thoughts? Or is it you, stopping for a moment to search for me?

Well, you certainly know Papa Shanghai. Usually writing here, but never really revealing. Well, let me tell you something. I have seen Papa hanging out and I have realised, he is just like me! A little detached, but interested. A little bit physical, a bit abnormal. We are figures, roaming space and time, watching you and everyone else. Being concerned with ourselves but always reflecting on our on position in the hot wok of humankind.

So this week, I was given the chance to be here. Isn’t it wonderful? Quite powerful, actually. For me, not for you. Although, have you ever heard from the mind of a cloud?

So I want to ask you some questions. And don’t worry, I will hear the answers. I am not a human, I am a cloud. I’ll be there!

Have you ever felt, despite being in a cloud-constellation, such as a big group of people, completely detached? Have you ever considered yourself an entity radically different from everyone else despite being anatomically identical? Have you ever felt the ease of detaching from society? Have you ever felt weightless despite suffering from gravitation? Was it you that made you weightless or was it someone‘s doing?

Do you want to be weightless?

It was a pleasure meeting you. But I have to go and bother someone else now. Float on!

Weekly state: heterogeneous.

Oh my! If this is not a try to give the boring name “weekly review” a new spice, my name is not Papa Shanghai and this is not a Sunday. But indeed it is, and here is the new deal: the state that describes a day, an event or even the whole week. Giving you and me the chance to learn new words, adjectives to be precise. So let’s start today, with heterogeneous.

Being the antonym of homogenous, the adjective is rarely used. Maybe we strive for homogenising our surroundings. Even when we think we are a droplet of fat in the big bowl of soup that is humanity, we are still slowly, but surely, advancing towards other droplets. And, for everyone who ever cooked a soup or even paid a little attention in chemistry, it is clear what happens: incorporation of the little droplet that once was all by itself.

If you are looking closer into that bowl, you will see that every ingredient that has the chance to move around, will be drawn to similar things, aggressively emulsifying. Is it so hard to keep a state of heterogeneity? Are we damned to intrinsically float towards commonalities?

Paradoxically, as humans, we connect best by having common dislikes. Shutting ourselves off to everything that deviates from the understanding to only have a glimpse of emulsion with our counterpart. While this sounds particularly negative, it is harder to do the opposite, celebrating heterogeneity. It is harder to communicate when we speak different languages, eat different food, dress differently, vote differently, go to bed differently or have a different understanding of values. Heterogeneous states are hard to maintain.

So how do we now escape this rabbit hole?

Well, step back. Just breathe for a moment and stop. No, seriously. Stop reading now for 10 seconds and stop. Look up, and then ahead. What are you doing?

You actually are a tiny droplet. Can you see the big blob of fat? Can you see how you are somehow drawn to it? But here you are, still. Being that tiny tiny bit of fat floating in humanity’s soup. What an achievement, don’t you think?

But when it gets too much, be sure to have a rest. Maybe emulsify for a moment, maybe a week?

I’ll see you then.

Weekly review 11.

I am sorry. Papa Shanghai has fallen, deep, very deep.

I am sorry. I promised novelty and mystery, a new way of how all of these reviews work.

I am sorry. I have promised to deliver, on point, every Sunday. A new dish.

However, that being said, let’s look forward! Let’s get started and switch it up. Cut through the waves. This image doesn’t make any sense actually because you don’t know what I am talking about. Let me elaborate. So, I have been thinking about boats a lot. They go out into a very dangerous terrain that rules Mother Earth! It’s water. (Why is it called Mother Earth then, you ask? Let’s discuss this another time). So boats venture out there, going there way. In a vastly energy-consuming way some might say.

But while they might be at the mercy of the ocean in a storm, they are also cutting. Some would say I am exaggerating as they just push the water. To you I say: sit down! Just joking, a fair point my intellectual friend.

Let’s cut through the waves together, don’t just push things. Cut, clean, like a scissor when it starts that smooth glide that gives you comfort.

So, what I will cut, is to say sorry. Because there won’t be any mistakes. Not because I won’t make any, but because I will just simply call them deviations. You are welcome.

In any case, I hope your week was great. It’s great to see you here again. Ciao, Papa.

Weekly review 10.

Well, well, well…. If it isn’t the consequences of my own actions. You probably expected something big, didn’t you? Another turn of the earth surrounding the sun, a marvel to be astonished by! It is, in fact, only a footnote in the vast menu of takeout dishes of yours truly, Papa Shanghai.

Today marks the 10th review of my week and possibly yours, if you are close to my these days. 10 times I have spat out wisdom, idiocies, revelations and completely useless statements from the spicy wok of my mind, ruled by equilibrium.

Some of you might be less balanced, particularly today. But for every incline, there is a fall. Whether it be emotions, affections, wealth or spices. So let’s start thinking, a little more broken down, inducing your rise from the fallen.

I have planned to re-organise these reviews because simply counting them is neither creative, nor really appealing. I am still searching for a cure. Wouldn’t it be nice to start the next 10 reviews with a little Chili? A little bit more “bling”, more shine!

So in the spirit of making a counter-point to this day (and yesterday), and to offset the sensation of marvel that anniversaries have, this review is underwhelmingly unspectacular. But rest assured, glamour, spice and wonder will again enter the stage. To give a little introduction, here is a musical, inspirational teaser:

I’ll hope you still stay here, for a while. I still see you.

Weekly review 9.

Festivities, celebration!

It is that time of the year again, the time that randomly has been chosen to bring light into our winter. Well, if you are lucky to live in a place where it is warm during these months, feel blessed. It is a time to sit back, relax, breathe and unwind. At least that’s how it should be. If it is not, don’t worry! Papa Shanghai has got you covered with this very special weekly review for Christmas 2022! So just leave wherever you are and find a spot with yourself or your loved one. Maybe it’s just you, maybe with your partner in crime, maybe with your pet. But for sure, I’ll be here, preaching, hot from the Wok of my mind. Here we go!

You did a lot, how much, only you can know. You have rewarded yourself, punished yourself as well. Loved and lived, cried and slept. Oh what a rollercoaster it has been. Sometimes I am thinking about myself, floating above my physical form. Isn’t it funny how we look? Don’t take yourself so seriously, we are just fleshy buildings that roam this planet!

I know that you are there, reading this. I hope you are cozy. Tug yourself in, hug yourself! Hug your partner in crime or your pet. Hug a grandma, most of them deserve it! Embrace life for a moment, see how you breathe and read and react. Think of me writing this, connecting us just now! Isn’t it funny how we act?

I know that this time period is busy so I don’t want to take up too much space in your plans. First of all, I would like to thank you for reading. Second, I hope that reading gave you pleasure or a chuckle. I will be here for some time, rest assured! So let’s do something fun together. Ready? Do it as long as you have time. Maybe use some headphones or blast it through the speakers, your choice!

So you see this link here? That’s where music is stored. But not just any music. It’s a tune we will remotely dance to, together! Ready? Grab your whoever is there, or just hug yourself and feel the music. Feel it in your toes, your fingers and your hair. Truly, listen. I wish you a happy festive period. See you soon. Love

Go!

« Older posts Newer posts »