Under the Banyan Tree

Some questions sound perfectly benign but hold more power than we think. Like a lot of power. I encountered one such question a week ago when I posted vacation photos on social media and a girlfriend commented, Where are you these days? I was in the Bahamas at the time and thrilled, of course, to answer the question and even extrapolate a little, adding qualifiers like amazing, stunning, inspirational. I may even have confessed, In my happy place. Upon returning home, also a wonderful place but not one as majestic and peaceful and just plain gorgeous as my favorite island, I began reflecting on the myriad areas of my life to which that question applied. Where was I, really? And why didn’t I interrogate myself more often about the figurative places I had settled into -- either by choice or misstep or neglect or comfort? I didn’t often check in with the emotional, physical, and spiritual states I was in. So how did I truly know where I was? And if I didn’t know, how could I evaluate and...

Sometimes -- or often, honestly -- I possess no profound wisdom or witty piece of advice or Motivational Monday thoughts on a Thursday, but I can almost always recognize what brings me joy. And I understand the importance of being happy even for a moment. Last week the iteration of my happiness was a trip to Target. At the time, I thought my life must truly lack meaning if the greatest thing that happens to me in a day is an afternoon Target run, but now, with a little distance from the moment, I assess the situation quite differently. Why can't a visit to a red and white box store whose canine symbol I've always found a bit odd and goofy (as he's supposed to be, probably) be a highlight? If wandering the aisles meditatively -- except for that moment when the screaming little boy in the frozen vegetable aisle reminded me of times I had to abandon my own cart and leave the store with an angry toddler in arms -- somehow brought me joy, why should I disparage the experi...