Month: July 2026

I Stopped Being a ‘Low-Maintenance’ Friend and Nearly Lost My Best Friend Over a Heart Emoji

A reply six days late, a heart emoji, and the two-month experiment that cured me of being everyone’s low-maintenance friend.

Last Thursday, I finally answered a text that had been sitting in my inbox for six days.

It was from Jess. A decade ago, I’d have called her my closest friend without needing to think about it.… Read the rest “I Stopped Being a ‘Low-Maintenance’ Friend and Nearly Lost My Best Friend Over a Heart Emoji”

Stop Chasing Happiness. Become Load-Bearing.

The most meaningful lives I’ve watched up close weren’t the happiest. They were the load-bearing ones, the ones holding weight.

A while ago, I took a fortnight off work. Properly off. Phone in a drawer, out-of-office autoreply locked in, the lot. I spent those two weeks walking, reading, and occasionally wincing at the thought of what I was returning to.… Read the rest “Stop Chasing Happiness. Become Load-Bearing.”