A friend sent me this email:

Subject: reflection for travis

“3 weeks off and student loan forgiveness[1] has you feeling pretty pretty pretty good.”

Why yes, Jim, it does…kind of. There’s other good stuff too! We didn’t lose power last weekend, and I just received my executive coaching certification from the International Coaching Federation.

And yet, this interminable, intermittent covid, proves something I’ve long known: achievements, milestones, goals realize–these are all great, and they’re not the source of true happiness. Not to get all, I don’t know…corny(?), but I find that happiness in the ability to be happy/find happiness in the moment, every single day, and not necessarily when I reach or because of milestones.

So the tough thing about living with interminable, intermittent covid, is that it affects your day-to-day, how you live. Dealing with sick loved ones, cancelling plans, navigating covid protocols…these things really affect our day-to-day happiness (and, um, sanity). And there’s a build-up of loneliness as well. I miss my friends. And I’m exhausted. I’m tired just typing these sentences, in a way that has nothing to do with sleep.

So, a question I’m sitting on this day/week/month/year: how will I live well in this time?

Favorite thing I read this week: You Can’t Optimize For Rest

Favorite thing I listened to this week: A friend sent along Full Heart Fancy by Lucky Chops, and the whole record is great to listen to while working

Favorite thing I watched this week: The Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO) (this is not a softcore porn, this is a hilarious show created by Mindy Kaling)

[1] I recently completed my Public Service Loan Forgiveness for my loans from law school! Getting the email felt kind of like winning a small lottery (recent administrative changes by the Biden Administration meant I was eligible earlier than I had expected). Also: forgive all student debt!