Hello, everyone. I’m a post-90s author from Jinan, Shandong. As I approached thirty, I suddenly began wondering about my own worth. Standing in this vast world, I felt as tiny as a speck of dust. But perhaps there’s another way to look at it: what seems like an ordinary day might be precious to someone else. A smile you give without thinking, a few comforting words, might have brought light to someone during a dark moment. The warmth of everyday life is often pieced together from little moments that seem insignificant.
I suddenly realized that in an age obsessed with efficiency and achievement, allowing yourself to “exist without purpose” can actually be a form of clarity. Like a tree in the forest that bears no fruit, you still play a part in the planet’s breath.
So the next time you feel like you’re just taking up space, try an experiment: write down three small, lovely things you noticed that day, like the clouds outside your window or the convenience store clerk remembering what you like. You may find that you, too, helped create those moments. The writer Fernando Pessoa wrote in The Book of Disquiet: “I am the one I failed to become.” This sense of estrangement from yourself is proof of how sensitive people are to meaning. Your declaration that you’re “just taking up space” may be a sign that your soul has begun searching for its own unique coordinates.
I hope my work can help everyone relax a little.
