Where Do You Go When You’re Not Here?

Letter Ø4 : For the ones who feel far away in their own lives

May 30, 2025

Let’s skip the small talk today.

Let’s talk about the weird moment when you realize you've been absent in your own life.

You showed up. You replied to the texts. You watered the plants (kind of). You smiled at the barista. You functioned.

But inside?
You were three steps behind yourself. Floating somewhere above your day. Watching life like a security cam instead of living it.

Sound familiar?

The Quiet Disappearing

There’s a kind of drifting we don’t talk about enough.

It’s not depression, exactly. Not burnout. Just... a subtle kind of detachment.
You go through the motions, but they don’t land.

You don’t feel broken. You just feel far away.
Like you’re living with the lights on, but nobody’s home.

This letter is for that version of you.

The Mind as an Escape Artist

When life gets overwhelming, confusing, or too slow, the mind starts building exits.

It plans. Rewinds. Projects.
It tries to escape the weight of now.

We think we’re being productive.
Really, we’re just vanishing by degrees.

It’s a clever trick. But also a lonely one.

Try This: The 5 Real Things Grounder

This one isn’t spiritual or fancy. Just useful.

Wherever you are, pause and name:

Something you can see
Something you can hear
Something you can touch
Something you can smell
Something you can feel emotionally, without judgment

This is how you call yourself back.

Not with force. Not with shame.

Just with five small doorways into the real.

An Imaginary Conversation

“Where have you been?”
“Nowhere. Just… not here.”
“Do you want to come back?”
“I think so.”
“Then breathe. This moment will take you in, no questions asked.”

A Subtle Truth

Being present doesn’t mean you’re joyful all the time.
It doesn’t mean your mind is quiet or that you’ve solved your life.

It means you're willing to return.

Willing to come back into your body.
Willing to feel the weird weight of existing.
Willing to stop floating and just… stand in the room again.

That’s the real work.

That’s the revolution.

Tiny Prompt for the Inner Return

“Ask yourself once a day: Where am I right now? And do I want to come back?”

If the answer is yes, try it. Even for 10 seconds.

Come back to your own life.
To your breath.
To the sound of your own footsteps on the floor.
To your slightly overwatered plant.
To the quiet.

Thanks for showing up to this moment. That’s the hardest part, and you did it.

See you in the next letter,
– Mindful Letters

P.S. If this spoke to something quiet in you, reply. I’m building this space with readers like you — the ones who feel things, even when they don’t always know what to do with them.

Mindful Letters