Nothing Is Wrong.
And Yet, Something Is Missing.
Between Christmas and New Year, life gets quiet enough to hear what’s usually drowned out.
You reunite with family, old friends, and people who remember you clearly.
And without meaning to, they hold up a mirror:
They ask the same questions.
They repeat the same jokes.
They tell the same story about you, as if it still fits.
And you notice, softly: something in you has moved.
No crisis. No drama.
Nothing is “broken.”
And yet… something feels off.
The Strange Place Between “Fine” and “Alive”
You can have a job that works.
Good people
Decent pay
Reasonable tasks
A calendar that stays under control
And still move through your days with a quiet distance. Like you’re present, but not fully inside your own life.
Not unhappy.
Just… dimmed.
The Moment That Gives It Away
Here’s the moment many people recognise once it’s named:
You finish something successfully… and feel nothing.
You complete the task.
You deliver the thing.
You tick off the week.
And it barely registers.
You’re busy, useful, reliable, and somehow untouched by your own momentum.
Another year passed. What exactly am I doing?
This Isn’t “Dissatisfaction”
It’s more subtle than that.
Like a dimmer switch that’s been turned down slowly – so slowly you didn’t notice it happening.
And because we don’t have great language for this, we usually turn it inward:
“Maybe I’m unmotivated.”
“Maybe I’m too sensitive.”
“Maybe I just need a break.”
But what if this isn’t a flaw?
What if it’s a signal?
A Simple Reframe
Functioning is a powerful skill.
It keeps careers intact. It keeps projects afloat. It keeps life moving.
Living is something else.
Living includes:
aliveness
the feeling that your energy is actually meeting the world, not just maintaining it
Many of us were trained to confuse the two.
We learned:
reliability = success
endurance = professionalism
staying = commitment
So when aliveness fades, we don’t protest.
We adapt.
And adaptation can look extremely competent… while quietly hollowing something out.
This Week Isn’t About Fixing Anything
No action steps hidden between the lines.
This edition is about naming.
Letting this experience be real without judging it, rushing it, or forcing it into a decision.
If you recognise yourself here, nothing is wrong with you.
You’re noticing something subtle and important.
Sometimes the most honest thing you can say is not:
“I’m unhappy.”
but:
“I’m no longer fully here.”
That noticing matters.
We’ll take it one step at a time.
Graziella
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