that falls on you through action. Instead of living at a remove, be more mindful of what your actions, emotions and needs are and tend to them.  We are blind to the ways in which we rob ourselves of precious moments that could be spent nurturing and fulfilling our desires.  

Life today is fast, complex, rigid and we are tied to our responsibilities.  Our time and our capacity for happiness is minute, leaving us feeling exhausted, distracted and somehow this is seen as an acceptable state of being. Well it certainly isn’t! We are still existing through strange times, where other people are considered a threat to our health, contradictory and irrational advice permeates our lives and the spectres of exhaustion, distraction and worry are hidden behind resigned acceptance. 

Though this stressful state of being doesn’t mean we have to deny ourselves indulgence and pleasure whenever the opportunity arises. For me, companionship and the people I meet, the activity I do are very different from my academic interests and goals and are a welcome distraction.  This irritating (to me) youthful ‘exuberance’ which comes out in everything I do in this world, I think occurs to counteract the heaviness of my ‘real’ pursuits. 

Thinking back to  wonderful times I had during summer, it struck me that everyone needs an escape.   A path that leads to creating moments in time to switch off, undertake something new with someone new, step outside of expectations and the humdrum for a while.

But which is the authentic self? The one that we show day to day or the one that is hidden even to ourselves.   As a lover of quotes there is this wonderful Japanese proverb which explains this conundrum we live so well: “The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone”.