Exactly Where We Need to Be

This weekend was full of laughter, memories, and the kind of connection that only comes from people who knew you in a different version of your life. My two best friends, my old NYC roommates came to visit. It was fun, nostalgic…and, if I’m honest, exhausting. After they left, I felt depleted. The kind of tired that makes you wonder: is it me, them, or just life? Maybe it’s all of it. What stuck with me most wasn’t the exhaustion, though it was that they both said the best time of their lives was when we lived together in New York City. That made me pause. Because the best time of my life is right now. And that realization brought a quiet sadness, not because I want to go back, but because I wish they felt that way too. But life has taken them down harder paths—ones shaped by isolation and deep loss. Of course they look back at that time as lighter, freer. I can’t change that for them. But I can choose what I plant. As my yoga teacher said: we plant the seeds we want to grow. I can’t plant happiness for them, but I can plant love, acceptance, and presence. I can meet them where they are, without needing them to feel differently. Because the truth is, we are exactly where we need to be, getting exactly what we need. Even in the exhaustion. Even in the sadness. Especially there. This chapter of my life isn’t competing with the past—it’s just mine. And I’m allowed to love it fully. So I’ll keep planting: Love. Acceptance. Presence.