participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world*
Joseph Campbell

Something in us wants to be distracted, whether by our digital devices or by anything else – to not spend our lives on what we thought we cared about most. The calls are coming from inside the house.**
Oliver Burkeman

Reply to that text,
Complete the job in the garden as it’s stopped raining,
Find that item that you need (probably under the stairs),
Here’s a good moment to touch up the paintwork,
Got to put some petrol in the car,
Make the shopping list …
A moment ago, you were excited by something,
A difference you really wanted to make,
To bring a little more brightness into the world –
Into someone’s world –
You had felt the power that came from imagining how
this aligns with your talents and passions and values,
But now you’re distracted, and you realise that
something inside of you is relieved, because joy doesn’t come without
time, effort, and sacrifice.

The bittersweet is also about the recognition that light and dark, birth and death – bitter and sweet – are forever paired.*

*Susan Cain’s Bittersweet;
**Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks.