"i’m trying hard to be here. it’s difficult. i have a great deal of practice not being present. my body is in the here, but most of my attention is elsewhere; it’s seldom on the now."

"i’ve been feeling quite a bit of peer pressure of late. if someone came to me with a similar complaint, i’d suggest they give the offending party a miss for a while but that won’t be possible in this case. it’s awkward to avoid someone when the someone you’re seeking time away from is you."

"to the left of me on my desktop is folded up, teal facecloth. it’s a particularly virulent shade that hasn’t faded as much as one would have hoped over the years, and it has been years. i acquired the cloth in grade ten, more than three decades ago. i’ve kept it all these years as a hair shirt of sorts; it’s not the only one of those i have lying around."

"from today’s journal prompt: “what inessential things can i eliminate from my life?” my immediate response was to plan on buying more garbage and recycling bags so i could work on culling the contents of the closets and storage cupboards. they are full of things i don’t really need but find difficult to part with."