A few things that sustain me:
People.
Connections with other people. Building relationships with other people. Getting to know other people. Learning about the lives and lived experiences and challenges and triumphs of other people. Love. Empathy. Compassion. Trust. The dynamism of the human condition.
Mindfulness.
Stillness. Observing without judging or reacting. Listening. Detachment from my perspectives and opinions. Dispassion. Knowing that everything is temporary. Constantly returning to a state of equanimity.
Music.
An intricately picked ragtime blues on an acoustic guitar. A bluegrass G run and a slapping standup double bass. A clipped, steady electric piano reggae skank with a crashing one drop on the three. A haunting a cappella slave song. A weaving, rhythmic, blistering, melodic Bird fluttering through the air.
Reading.
Stories. Fiction. Memoir. History. Current events. Black feminism. Cults. LGBTQ. Cuba. Africa. Gandhi and Thich Naht Hanh and Henry Miller and James Baldwin and Michelle Tea and Brené Brown and Chinua Achebe and Pema Chödrön and. . .
We are more than our work. Work pays the bills. But it only partially sustains us. Can only motivate and inspire and challenge us so much.
But it is not all of who we are. We are much more dynamic than that.