It’s only Monday, and already:
- My back hurts.
- I just spent hours wiping and sweeping and mopping and washing.
- While I was taking out the garbage, a suspicious sticky and wet substance dripped on my hand. I have scrubbed myself raw five times and I still don’t feel clean.
- The heat is killing me. I took a bath and before I have dried myself I was sweating again.
- The kitchen is empty and I don’t know if I we have something to eat for lunch.
- My youngest sister and I had a fight last night and I’m feeling crummy.
I collapsed on the floor beside my bookshelf, defeated at 9 AM. I thrashed about, alone in my tantrum. My right hand hit a stack of books and this little thing fell onto my face:
My backbone for this week
Page 11 was stuck on my forehead:
Do you have doubts about life? Are you unsure if it is worth the trouble? Look at the sky: that is for you. Look at each person’s face as you pass on the street: those faces are for you. And the street itself, and the ground under the street, and the ball of fire underneath the ground: all these things are for you. They are as much for you as they are for other people. Remember this when you wake up in the morning and think you have nothing. Stand up and face the east. Now praise the sky and praise the light within each person under the sky. It’s okay to be unsure. But praise, praise, praise.
— Miranda July, from “The Shared Patio,” as part of No One Belongs Here More Than You
It’s Monday. It’s okay.
Good morning, M.
Awake & Asleep 