Have you lost your joy? Day 5

The world gets smaller-and quieter. Another quiet sign: shrinking radius. She stops trying new cafes, driving unfamiliar routes,or saying yes to mild adventures. Home becomes a fortress and fog. Routines are lovely; ruts are not.

Back when I first retired, I found myself traveling the same three streets, same shops, same bench. A friend, I’ll call her Ana, was doing the same, but with more fear behind it. We made a pact; once a week we’d go somewhere within twenty minutes that neither of us had been. A botnical garden on a Tuesday morning. A thrift store two neighborhoods over. A free gallery of local design. We didn’t talk about ‘fixing’ anything; we just widened the map. Joy needs air.

If this is you: set a small ‘newness quota’. One new place a week. The goal isn’t thrill, it’s oxygen.