Fortunate Life

This morning I sat with my coffee and watched the light slowly fill the room. I noticed how peaceful everything felt. Quiet. Uncomplicated. And I realized that the only time my life feels heavy is when my mind starts wrestling with things that are outside my control. It is almost embarrassing how often I do this. I replay conversations in my head. I wonder what people are thinking about me. I try to guess outcomes. I try to shape situations that are clearly not mine to fix. I hold on to timelines that do not belong to me. And every time I do this, I lose my peace. I am learning that there is a boundary in life. A simple invisible line. On one side are the things I can influence. My attitude. My choices. My reactions. My habits. My words. On the other side are the things that are none of my business. How people behave. What they choose to love or neglect. What they give. What they withhold. The pace of life. The unpredictability of the world. And yet, I still find myself crossing tha...

Today I found myself thinking about the things in my life that feel heavy. Not the dramatic ones, just the quiet struggles that sit in the background. The small disappointments. The unspoken worries. The responsibilities that stretch me. The moments when I feel unsure of myself. I realized how easy it is to treat these moments as burdens, as proof that something is wrong, as signs that I am falling behind. But this morning, while brushing my hair, a thought came to me so softly that it almost felt like someone whispered it into my mind. What if this is training. Not punishment. Not failure. Not chaos. Just training. I paused and let that idea settle. Life has a way of placing us in situations that we did not ask for but somehow need. The challenges that frustrate me are often the ones that shape me. The moments that disappoint me are usually the ones that push me closer to who I am becoming. I started to see my struggles through a different lens, not as obstacles but as exercises. A...

Today I woke up with a heaviness that I could not explain. It was not sadness exactly. It was not fear either. It was something quieter, something softer, like a fog sitting inside my chest. For a moment I almost let it decide what kind of day I would have. Almost. But I remembered something I wrote before. Something I am trying to practice, even on the days when I feel fragile. The reminder that emotions are visitors. They come, they stay for a while, and eventually they leave. They are allowed to exist, but they are not allowed to rule me. So I sat still for a bit and just observed what I was feeling. No judgment. No forcing it away. I simply said to myself, This is what my body is feeling right now, not who I am. It sounds simple, but it took me years to understand this. For so long I thought my emotions were the truth. If I felt rejected, then it meant I was not enough. If I felt anxious, it meant something bad was about to happen. If I felt lonely, it meant I was unlovable. I g...

The past two years have been tough for me. I’ve been feeling more emotional, more anxious, and sometimes even a little depressed.  Maybe it’s menopause, or maybe it’s just life piling up—but my mind has been in chaos. Small problems feel big. I overthink everything—what people say, what they don’t say, their actions, even their silence. It gives me sleepless nights, stress, and a heavy feeling in my chest. Then I came across some ideas from stoicism —a way of thinking that teaches you to focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t. It made a lot of sense to me. So I started paying more attention to these things, and it helped me slowly feel more calm and in control of myself. Here are: 7 Things You Can’t Control in Life Other people’s actions and opinions You can’t control how people act or what they think. Their choices are not your responsibility. The past What’s done is done. You can’t change it. You can only decide how to live today. The weather or...