Like our easy access to the now ubiquitious wifi signal, the slender needle of envy …

Excerpt: "...You might notice long‑standing allies staring back at you like living mirrors of your most serious, mature-acting selves, quietly asking whether the current version of you can still pay the dues, perform as good as you might have when you first earned entry into this circle years ago...."

The duty to appoint and meet schedules conflicts with the urge to retreat and engage in soul retrieval; both claim urgency, and neither provides simple, hard-copy confirmation. You may find yourself up, rinsing dishes at 2 a.m. while processing a decades‑old disappointment that has finally acquired words, or at least thoughts.