What do you do when you feel the world is closing in all around you? How do you cope with the need for space and solitude, with feeling like you can’t breathe even though you’re surrounded by air?

There are times when it seems as if nothing’s going right and everything’s going wrong instead. You want to do something great but you wonder if you can make it; you want to lose yourself in a dream but you find yourself punching holes through the gossamer because you have to face “reality”; you want to live but you find yourself doubting you can keep bliss on tap.

So what? So what if you can’t? So what if happiness comes and goes and you have to deal with tears every once in a while? So what if you feel down more often than not and you just want a break from it all? Life is one great big messy ride and nobody has all the answers. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody’s “up” every single moment of every single day. We put on our happy faces in public so no one has any idea how we sob ourselves to sleep at night. We smile ’til our cheeks hurt because it’s easier to cope that way and we’re trying to hold the droop at bay. At the end of the day, though, are you being real? Continue reading →