“I think as one grows older, one is appallingly exposed to wearing life instead of living it. Habit, physical deterioration and a slower digestion of our experiences, all tend to make one look on one’s dear life as a garment, a dressing gown, a raincoat, a uniform, buttoned on with recurrent daily (tasks)….for myself I found one remedy, and that is to undertake something difficult, something new, to re-root myself in my own true faculties….for in such moments, life is not just a thing one wears, it is a thing one does and is.”

WILLIAM MAXWELL’S “THE LETTERS OF SYLVIA TOWNSEND WARNER

when you’re too focused on your historical wardrobe—rather than the person inside those clothes—you lose track of the authentic and special gifts you have to offer..