Alis volat propriis

Today I was listening to this amazing song by Jennifer Chung, “Common, Simple, Beautiful.” I’ve heard it many times before but listening to it again today, it sort of hit a heart string. 

I don’t know what exactly it is because suddenly I felt so overwhelmed with life and for a split second I became very afraid. In a way, my life just flashed before my eyes. I saw the times I spent in my little house in Brooklyn, my small room in the basement that I shared with my sister. I saw the summers I spent at my best friend’s houses in middle school. I saw my future and sitting myself in the middle of a brightly lit apartment. 

And then I wonder, (like I always wonder)…why do I do what I do? Why Success? WHY happiness through successful career? WHY do I define myself through my accomplishments? And for that split second, it all seemed so silly to me. 

And this song says just that — why are we so wrapped up in what we do that we forget home, we forget how simple life can be. 

Don’t you agree when they all say
“Home is where the heart is.”
But do you see, with every step that you take,
You get further away from where the heart is.

I remember telling mom that I’d make her proud one day.
She would smile and knew exactly all the right things to say.

slightly numb, but happily so.