The Existential Dread of Empty Semanas en el Calendario

16 May 2024

Calendario 2023 Con Semanas Numeradas Imagesee

Is it just me, or do empty weeks on the calendar hit different as you get older? Like, in your early twenties, a blank slate of "semanas en el calendario" felt full of potential, an open invitation to spontaneous adventures and last-minute rooftop parties. Fast forward a few years (or, okay, maybe a decade), and those same empty squares now feel like a Marie Kondo book judging my entire existence. Suddenly, it's not "What am I going to do with all this freedom?" but "Why is there not a single interesting thing happening in my life right now?".

Maybe it's the societal pressure to be "booked and busy," or maybe it's just the creeping fear that everyone else is out there living their best lives while I'm stuck on hold with the cable company. Whatever the reason, the struggle is real. One minute you're gleefully circling plans on your calendar with a glittery gel pen, and the next, you're staring into the abyss of a week that looks suspiciously like the last one, and the one before that, and…well, you get the picture.

But here's the thing: maybe it's time we reclaim the empty semanas en el calendario. Maybe instead of seeing them as a void to be filled with frantic social engagements or productivity hacks, we can embrace them as a blank canvas for, you know, actually living. Because isn't that the point of all this calendar-marking madness anyway? To create a life that feels fulfilling, not just full?

So, what if we leaned into the quiet moments? What if instead of desperately searching for something, anything, to fill the void, we embraced the void itself? Imagine: a week where you actually have time to read that book you bought months ago, or finally master that sourdough recipe everyone was obsessed with in 2020. A week where you can reconnect with friends without the pressure of a structured "coffee date," or simply spend an afternoon wandering around a museum, lost in your own thoughts.

Okay, I know what you're thinking: easier said than done, right? The fear of missing out (FOMO, as the kids say) is real, and the pressure to document every Instagrammable moment can be overwhelming. But what if, just for a week, we all made a pact to put down our phones, silence the notifications, and just…be? Maybe, just maybe, we'd discover that the most fulfilling moments aren't the ones we plan meticulously, but the ones that unfold organically when we give ourselves the space and time to simply exist.

So, the next time you find yourself spiraling into an existential crisis over an empty week on the calendar, take a deep breath and remember this: you are not defined by the number of events you attend, the tasks you check off your to-do list, or the carefully curated snapshots of your life you share on social media. You are enough, just as you are. And sometimes, the most revolutionary act of self-care is simply giving yourself permission to do absolutely nothing at all.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my couch, a stack of unread magazines, and absolutely zero plans for the foreseeable future. And honestly? I've never felt more alive.