Issue #120 | May 22, 2026 | Previous issues​

Hey Reader,

Every week I attempt to address serious issues such as burnout, overwhelm, self-abandonment, and existential dread, with a bit of humor and occasionally an ounce of spiritual medicine.

Just about every week, I receive touching replies.

It seems you need the same thing I do.

A little validation. A lot of love and compassion. And sometimes, a good suggestion to help make the day a tiny bit easier to manage.

Last week, I hope happiness found you. I hope you invited it in and served it its favorite beverage. I hope you drew happiness out with questions, in order to befriend it so it'll stop over more often.

What I hear from you—and what I experience too—is the daily bombardment of to-dos, obligations, and demands on your time, energy, and attention.

Some of you are suffocating, buried beneath the rubble of guilt, perfectionism, duties, and exhaustion—with no end in sight.

And then, out of the blue, when you just let go for one sacred minute or hour, your soul breathes a pocket of fresh air and you start to remember that life also involves play, hobbies, nature, specialty coffee drinks, and dare I say laughter and fun!

And for a bit, your personality shines. You begin to joke, laugh (or cry which is a nervous system release), and notice that there's beauty too in the world. Not just tragedy. Not just endless obligations.

Maybe you smile wide. Maybe you beat your drums to let the rhythm soothe you. Maybe you ride your bike just to feel the wind in your hair. Maybe you pick flowers and arrange them in a vase on your desk.

Or maybe you just let yourself have a day off.

You let yourself hold joy in one palm and grief in the other.

I'm thinking this is the practice.

Reality says: war, suffering, cancer, death, poverty, natural disasters, mental health crises, the list goes on.

But really our hearts are magnetized for joy, lightness, peace, variety, purposeful work, warmth, presence, the list goes on.

Can you see that your heart is a magnet that draws goodness toward itself (designed to be that way actually)?

But just as a magnet can be flipped to repel instead of attract, you might without realizing it be pushing joy and goodness away.

So my question to you: how can you not ignore reality while also keeping your heart aligned with what is nourishing?

How do you hold joy in one hand and reality—grief, sadness, fear, anger, shame, and guilt—in the other?

Maybe this is one way to keep joy close without invalidating what is hard. They can both exist in us. But joy gets to be what we keep focus on.

I know it's not easy. I live on the same planet as you, even though our circumstances and challenges are unique.

And yet, you are not alone. I am not alone.

Let's practice it together.

Holding joy in one hand, and whatever is aching you in the other. But keep your eye and heart focused on the hand that holds—and creates—joy.

With love and joy,

Anna

P.S. Today, try naming one thing in each hand: one joy, one ache. Then give your attention—for a few breaths—to the joy. Try it again tomorrow, even if only for five minutes.

​aferalhousewife.com​