Present

When the Bitching Stick passed to Sophie, she laughed and said to the group that she was fine (passing it on). Everyone at the happy hour nodded, but there were two eye rolls (Mark and Aimee) and one sigh (Petra). It was Petra who then whispered, "GAWD, mindfulness is so irritating." Sophie laughed (genuinely amused), and reached over to pat Petra's forearm. "Guilty of trying to live in the present moment," she said warmly, "and apologies that it wrecks the vibe." "There is no juicy gossip in the now," Mark teased her (and she smiled), "so why bother with it?" "The past wants to pull you back and keep you spinning - hold you prisoner, so every loopback should come with a warning. And the future doesn't want you yet; it's a closed door with a "Mind Your Own Business" sign taped up. The present moment is where we belong; it's the only place we're actually welcome. I just ... got tired of feeling like I fit nowhere, bouncing between what I couldn't change and the future fantasies that I was getting more and more attached to. I still enjoy a good trashtalk, but ... I'm happy to no longer think of myself or my life as trash." "Dammit," Aimee exhaled and knew she'd just receive the sign she was looking for.