What really matters?

As humans, we all reach a point where we hit our capacity. Yet many of us believe we must simply push through. We keep going, even when we're running on empty. But often, this comes at a cost: apathy, aggression, “poor performance.”

I left my job as a veterinary technician due to burnout. After five years of climbing the career ladder, from Emergency to ICU, Internal Medicine, and finally Oncology, I had all the things society told me I was supposed to want. And yet, my mind and spirit were broken.

COVID served as a reminder of the randomness and brevity of life. At the time, I told myself that if I was going to die, this was not how I wanted to go out. So I left my job to start this wellness business. Over the years, I've learned that Mitra doesn't look like what others might expect. I don't have a studio or a ton of money. But in reality, I don't even want those things. And the beauty is, I don't have to want them.

Our lives are what we make of them. Success is what we define it to be. And death has always been a motivating factor for me. Losing my 20-year-old brother when I was only 17 taught me that tomorrow is never promised. My goals are to live a life of meaning, to practice compassion and gratitude, to “sit here and know I am alive.”

And yet, isn't it funny how often we lose sight of our lessons? Recently, I've started feeling that same sense of burnout again. A lack of motivation, even for the things I care about most. Judgment, rumination, pessimism. It's a familiar place to find myself, and it has reminded me how easy it is to lose sight of what we know matters when we're caught up in the stressors of daily life.

The systems we live within often benefit when we're dysregulated: when we overwork out of fear of falling "behind" or being left out. When we become angry with others over the ways they have been disenfranchised. When so much of our energy goes toward just surviving.

The pressure of these systems is a heavy burden to carry. But we still have choices in how we move through this life. We have the option to step back, in whatever way we can, so that we can respond from the heart rather than react from the gut.

We must protect our ability to find joy, to prioritize our loved ones, and to actually live our lives while we have them. This doesn't have to mean making huge changes. It can be as simple as taking a walk to appreciate your health and the world around you. Or taking time to laugh with your friends or your kids. Anything that helps you remember what gives you life, before becoming jaded by the things that drain it.

I am fortunate to finally be making my way home to Puerto Rico. To appreciate to the beauty of the Earth, the land of my ancestors, and the birthplace of my brother, carrying a grief that is now older than he ever got to be. Again, death reminds me that every moment is precious.

Life is a temporary gift. With no guarantee of how long it will last. The systems in power can consume our energetic and emotional capacity, our lives, until we realize we have none left. So how do you want to live the life you have now? How do you want to prioritize what matters to you, while you still can?