“…he's a man who disappoints himself with his need of firm ground. He needs stability inside and out, and to simplify his life lest it overwhelm him. There are people like him (so he says) who complicate their inner lives by feeling too much all at once, by living in knots, and who therefore need outer things to be simple. A house, a field, some sheep for example. And there are those who manage somehow, by some miracle of being, to simplify their inner lives so that outer things can be ambitious and limitless. Those people can swap out a house for a spaceship, a field for a universe. And though he'd give his leg to be the latter, it's not the kind of thing you can trade a leg for, in any case who'd want his leg if they already had limitlessness? Nobody has limitlessness, she'd said.”
Taken from 'Orbital' by Samantha Harvey
I enjoyed reading Orbital so much that I purchased it for multiple people at Christmas. A short novel exploring life on the International Space Station, the awe at which it’s inhabitants view the world and the regret they feel over leaving their domestic lives behind. Ascending and descending, revolutions and rotations, and time to reflect.
Sometimes we can look at others and ask ourselves how they have managed to find so much success, momentum, money or power. How have they pushed beyond the limitations that we all feel to realise a dream or overcome all the obstacles to complete what they set out to do.
Initially, we need to escape the sense of comparison, we are meant to be our own selves and that alone. We arrive in this world on different terms, with different platforms, expectations and priorities, there is not sense in comparing.
Secondly, if you are jealous of someone else's situation, what is that telling you about your situation? It doesn't mean theirs is objectively better, it just seems that way based on how you are valuing what they have. Ask yourself whether you have taken time to value what you have? Any frustration you may still feel can be pointed towards something life giving that will energise not only you but the world around you.
Also, sometimes we all need simplicity and the circumstances we find ourselves in require us to seek restoration. Sometimes we feel like we can take on the world, but in order to take on the world we need to engage with the world. To open up a conversation with it and its inhabitants, to ask questions, search for answers, find the gems of beauty and meaning and be open to the synchronous (coincidental?) happenings in life which only seem to occur if we are willing to knock on its doors. For some of us, taking on the world will take us out of this world, to float in space only to wish we could return.
This article is taken from my March Mailout which also features some of my latest news and cultural highlights.
To receive it directly to your inbox each month, sign up here.