Where we are

"Often, what keeps us from joy is the menacing assumption 
that life is happening other than where we are."

-mark nepo-

Day 14/31: we live in an age where we get glimpses into other people's lives in a constant feed, accessible 24/7.  other people's lives are happening all around us. they often appear to be more enticing than the one i am living. somewhere else people are seizing the day, living with no regrets and no limitations. here, i am cleaning up smashed peas from my sofa and i just stubbed my toe on a hello kitty watering can. at times my joy would simply be going to bed before 10:30 and waking up to a clean kitchen.

i am glad i didn't grow up in the digital age, where my peers' lives were so exposed and the inevitable comparisons of who is doing what and where and with whom was ever-present. i am lucky i just missed the cusp. it's not that any of that is bad in and of itself, but what keeps us from joy? the menacing assumption that life is happening other than where we are.

i want to be more present to my life, less of anyone else's, except my daughter's.  i want to rarely have to be reminded that life is happening where i am.