On Identity, Gratitude, and the Gift of an Orange

A brief collection of what’s helping me live a more attentive and meaningful life. Here’s what has been capturing my heart and mind lately.

I’m filled with gratitude for Sam Harris and his team behind the Waking Up meditation app.

In a generous gesture, they have provided 50 free 3-month subscriptions to our Mindfulness Exercises community. Waking Up is one of my favorite apps, offering profound teachings and practices that help unlock a deeper understanding of who we truly are. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone looking to go deeper.

I came across a powerful reflection that has stayed with me:

You are a different person to everyone you meet. To some, you’re quiet. To others, you never stop talking. Some remember you for your kindness, others for the time you walked away. You are a villain in someone’s story, a hero in another’s. And to most, you’re just a passing thought.

The truth is, you don’t exist as one person, but as countless versions of yourself, shaped by fleeting moments and personal perceptions. You will never hear your own laughter the way someone else does. You will never see the way your absence lingers in a room you once filled.

To yourself, you are just you. But to others, you are a thousand different stories, none of which you will ever get to read.

This isn’t a call for anxiety, but for humility and grace. It reminds me that my story is not the only one, and that everyone is the main character of their own complex narrative.

My current practice is to feel life as a valuable gift I didn’t create or earn.

When I remember this, even the smallest things become precious: the clean water from the faucet, the sound of my daughter’s laughter, the way the morning light shifts across the room.

From this place, I try to open my senses and my heart more fully to what’s already here. It’s a gentle reminder that life isn’t just something to rush through or control, but something to receive, moment by moment, with gratitude and wonder.

This poem perfectly captures the essence of finding profound peace in ordinary moments.

The Orange

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange

The size of it made us all laugh.

I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave

They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange, it made me so happy,

As ordinary things often do

Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.

This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.

I did all the jobs on my list

And enjoyed them and had some time over.

I love you. I’m glad I exist.

— Wendy Cope

May your week be filled with moments that make you glad you exist.