Between Heaven and Earth
Tame Impala, Scorpio season, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and a black cat.
“I caught a glimpse, I’m going after it.”
(“Yes I’m Changing” — Tame Impala)
In exactly one week from when I’m writing this, I’ll have completed another trip around the Sun. A poetic way to say I’ll be one year older.
It’s not a milestone birthday, but it feels like the right moment to pause and gather some thoughts. Unlike my usual posts, this one doesn’t feel like a story — more like a journal entry I’ve decided to make public.
Maybe I’ll manage to keep it concise. We’ll see.
Scorpio season. My favorite time of year. Maybe I’m biased, but I truly think it’s the most beautiful season for reflection, transcendence, and growth. Like the many forms of Scorpio, it invites us to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. I could write endlessly about this sign, but I’ll restrain myself. For now, I’ll just say this: the Scorpion doesn’t think its way through life — it feels it. Its work, my work, is to bring emotion and action into alignment.
And whether you believe in astrology or not, when the Sun is in a sign, the world feels infused with its spirit. Scorpio, the sign of death and rebirth, arrives at a perfect time. We’re far enough into the year to see what’s grown from our January resolutions and Virgo-season ambitions (September), yet still distant enough from the year’s end to look inward and assess where we stand.
This post isn’t really about being 22. It’s about what I’ve made of it.
If you know me, you know my age has always been a quiet topic. I’ve never felt the number that represents me, and for that reason, birthdays have felt insignificant — just another marker of time.
But 22 has been different. The most memorable year of my life, not because of external milestones, but because I finally stopped waiting for my dreams to happen and decided to make them real.
In these (soon-to-be) past 365 days, I dove headfirst into life. I felt everything: joy, gratitude, bliss, stress, grief, serenity. The whole fucking spectrum.
And that’s what made it extraordinary.
Everything worth living for exists on the other side of fear. So whatever “it” is, do it. Do it scared. There’s no perfect time. Only time, and what you make of it. Taking action creates the alignment we crave.
Earlier this week, I was asked what I considered the most important category of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Without hesitation, I said self-actualization — the top of the pyramid.
Of course, it’s a privilege to focus on growth once basic needs are met. But setting that aside, I truly believe our purpose here is to become our fullest selves.
For the first time this year, I’ve felt that harmony between the exterior and interior, purpose and career, mind and soul. As Carl Jung said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
And I can finally look at that quote as someone who’s experienced it rather than contemplated it.
A lot of people don’t believe in perfection. They see it as something out of reach, reserved for gods or ideals. I disagree. Perfection exists everywhere. If you stop projecting your wounds onto this beautiful world, you’ll see it too.
This year has felt like a perfect dream. Overflowing with growth, fulfillment, and the quiet magic of dreams materializing. And, as if life wanted to gift me one last symbol, it blessed me with a perfect little black cat — the cherry on top.
In the words of Oscar Wilde: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
Thank you, 22.
My first real year of living.
I’ll end with the closing words of the song that inspired this post:
“Arise and walk on through
A world beyond that door (listen to it call)
Is calling out for you.”
Because life is full of synchronicities, as I finish typing this in a coffee shop, this very song just started playing.
(written on 11/7, typed 11/9)