Series: The Beauty of Being Limited
“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
– Sylvia Plath
The first time I read those words, something cracked open in me. It wasn’t just a quote—it was a mirror. I felt recognition. Yearning. And strangely, peace. Sylvia Plath put language to something I’ve always known deep in my bones: I want everything. And I am horribly limited.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve yearned—not for things, but for experiences. Deeper conversations. Wilder thoughts. Bolder truths. I’ve wanted to know more, feel more, be more. To study philosophy and psychology, to dance and write and explore. To understand what it means to be alive, from every possible angle.
But I also tried to live the life I was supposed to want. The neat, tidy American Dream version. A degree. A steady job. A respectable title. A spouse. A mortgage. And somewhere along the way, I lost the pulse of myself. That life, while full on paper, left me empty. It was success by someone else’s definition.
Now, “everything” means something different. It’s no longer about external achievements or mastering every skill before I run out of time. It’s about depth. Presence. Living fully inside this moment—this bubble of existence I call mine. Everything is what’s already within me: my curiosity, my passion for stories, my refusal to be numbed by routine.
Still, the ache comes back. The desire to be all the versions of myself I never got to be. When it does, I don’t run from it anymore. I write. Furiously. Raw. I let it hurt. I let it breathe. And then I remember that the ache itself is proof of being alive.
If you feel this too—the sadness of being one self in one life—know this: you are not alone. The ache is not a flaw. It’s a compass. A nudge to look inward. To follow wonder. To explore yourself with the same curiosity you have for the world.
Let this be a beginning. Of self-discovery. Of deeper presence. Of peeling back the layers of what you were told to want—until what’s left is real.
“I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.”
– Sylvia Plath
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