What's your net worth

(I'm trying to leave the title like that. Like how the kids text. No punctuation at the end. Why? Just a lil personal challenge. As (briefly) a former copyeditor, it does cause me some agita. Ok now but please don't judge my writing like 'she's a former copyeditor?!' Well, you still use punctuation like it's 2007, so pot, kettle etcetera. )

Hey you.

Yeah, you, contemplating 2026.

How do you define your worth?

(Ha, whew, question marks.)

Recently I heard a very wise, generous senior American woman I love say out loud "I'll be a good person starting in January." She was talking about eating more healthily, snacking less in the future, as she enjoyed a snack. I don't think she really meant she thought of herself as a bad person based on the puppy chow chex mix (if you don't know, now you know . You're welcome) in her hand, but I don't know. Some of you boomers have some weird moral stuff yelling at you inside about food.

Sorry. Not weird, unexamined.

It's all just about dopamine, blood sugar, boredom, availability of calories our ancestral blood is still programmed to seek. You can fight it, eating junk food I mean, but due to a variety of factors, not everybody feels up to that every day. No one has the same resources for the fight. Many people would rather (or NEED to for their survival) use their resources (attention, physical stamina, money) for other things. Is that a moral decision? To focus on your job or your kids instead of cultivating a wholesome diet on a busy day? Maybe it is. But let's be real about the calculus if you want to judge that way. And if you want to judge that way, why do you? Hm. I'm surely digressing, but my therapy style is about digging deeper on the things you say. Silently or loudly. I'm gonna ask. I'm gonna repeat that shit back to you. Sorry.*

So how do YOU know whether you're worthy each day?

Your body shape? The size and texture of different parts of it?

Your salary? Whether or not capitalism agrees with the kind of work you do?

Your kids' achievements? How many activities they do successfully? Their future prospects for alignment with capitalism?

How many people want to see you on the weekend? Your New Year's Eve invites or lack thereof?

Do you agree with these metrics?

Will you do me a favor, and just consider that for a few minutes? Then a few minutes tomorrow, too.

K thanks.

*not sorry