Paper Boats

I spend a lot of my day in this spot, as you probably know already if we've been connected here for any amount of time. Here is where I meet with folks on Zoom, read freewrites and drafts of poems and novels and memoirs and personal essays, plan my week, make appointments, pet my doggo (who is usually snuggled up on her bed by my side), eat, and do a great deal of staring out the window.

Sometimes the old thought, “What am I doing with my life?” floats by, a little paper boat that has traveled in small circles in my mind for much of my life. It doesn’t have room for any passengers, so I just give it a gentle redirect and send it on its way.

For so long, I searched for the Big Thing I Should Be Doing.

Little by little, I’ve relinquished that and recognized that purpose and impact and meaning, these words we hold on pedestals and assume we are light years away from, are almost always so much nearer than we think.

When you’re someone who cares deeply about the world, it can feel like nothing is enough, and it can be tempting to doubt your own work. I won’t tell you not to, but I will invite you to let everything count and to remember these oft-quoted words of Talmud: "The work of repairing the world is not yours to complete alone, nor are you free to desist from it."

If you are toiling away in your own little corner today, know that your work matters. And just as importantly, know that your being matters.