This month’s newsletter isn’t about feeling better. It’s about noticing you’re alive.
I don’t have a well-being theme or step-by-step instructions to feel calmer, well, or whatever you may be seeking. Right now, those topics feel trite compared to the bigger picture: how to ‘be’ in the day-to-day human experience without completely losing our minds.
I sense many of us can relate to these scenarios:
Sleepwalking through life, your mind on autopilot, ricocheting like a pinball from one reaction to the next.
Filling your calendar to the brim—not out of purpose, but as a buffer against feeling too much.
Living in the future or replaying the past so often that you miss the only real thing there is: this moment.
I recently revisited David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech, ‘This is Water.’ It’s one of those pieces that quietly rearranges your insides. He opens with a story…
There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”
At first, I was like, ha-ha abstract joke, but then I read on and the point of the story and his speech to the graduates sank in. Wallace emphasizes the importance of being aware of our surroundings and the default settings of our minds. He uses the metaphor of water to illustrate how the most obvious realities can often be overlooked.
He focuses on the difficulty of empathy and the need to consciously choose how to perceive others, with the argument that true freedom comes from being aware of our thoughts and feelings, allowing us to act with compassion.
As the speech concludes, Wallace ties it up:
It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:
“This is water.”
“This is water.”
'This is water’ is a prompt. A reminder that this—right now—is life. And you have the agency to choose how you move through it, in care of yourself and the collective.
So today, maybe just notice. The breath. The tension. The kindness. The water.
Read the full transcript or listen to the audio of David Foster Wallace’s 2005 Kenyon College commencement speech This Is Water.
Curious About the Camino? Join Me Next Saturday.
Last month, I shared the news about my upcoming guided Camino de Santiago pilgrimage—and now, I’d love to invite you to a free info call this Saturday, October 4th at 8am PT.
Whether you’re seriously considering it or just curious, this call is a space to explore.
Here’s a glimpse of what I’m offering: In May 2026, I’ll be guiding a small group of women on a 2‑week, ~200‑mile walk from León to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This experience is more than a trek—it’s a meaningful container for movement, coaching, and reflection before, during, and after the pilgrimage. You can explore the FAQ here for more details.
To give you a deeper sense of what this pilgrimage means to me, you can read my recent article where I reflect on my own Camino pilgrimage from two years ago.
Wishing you peace, health, and happiness!
-Sharman
