You probably recognize this: After a so-so Sunday—not a bad day, in fact it was pretty okay—you go on Instagram and you get a slightly unsettled feeling. Within minutes, you see images of all kinds of things you would have liked to have done, too: had breakfast at the beach, gone to a fair in town that you didn’t even know was on, enjoyed a nice dinner outdoors by a campfire with your friends. Perhaps someone you know bought a dilapidated farmhouse and is renovating it (#dreamcometrue) and someone else is off on a camping weekend in a vintage Volkswagen van (#happysunday).
After seeing all those happy hashtags, we begin to feel less satisfied with our Sunday. It suddenly feels like a wasted opportunity, and we feel a bit down. Why can’t we turn every day into an exciting, festive one? What on earth possessed us when we decided to clear out the closet and do the laundry? Why don’t we have a classic Airstream with cute little curtains? Turns out we can be very immature and jealous.
It’s precisely that feeling that inspired us to put together this issue, which is full of various subjects that always make us feel better: things that remind us it’s not all about the pursuit of happiness, for example, but also about seeing life as an ongoing adventure, and that life isn’t about superlatives.
We remember we do not have to post every picture on Instagram with filters and over-the-top happy hashtags. Our Sundays are often so-so, and that’s fine. We hope that Instagram continues to be that happy bubble, and of course we understand that behind every fun hashtag, there are probably plenty of Sundays that were just okay. But we’ve decided to start posting our dirty dishes and indifferent adolescent children a bit more often. Promise.
- This editorial can be found in Issue 23.
