Tasting Plate No. 1: Fittingness
"Claire spoke often in her poetry of the idea of 'fittingness': that is, when your chosen pursuit and your ability to achieve it--no matter how small or insignificant both might be--are matched exactly, are fitting. This, Claire argued, is when we become truly human, fully ourselves, beautiful. To swim when your body is made for swimming. To kneel when you feel humble." Zadie Smith, On Beauty
“He walked slowly through the market. The merchants were assembling their stalls, and the boy helped a candy seller to do his. The candy seller had a smile on his face: he was happy, aware of what his life was about, and ready to begin a day’s work. His smile reminded the boy of the old man—the mysterious old king he had met. ‘This candy merchant isn’t making candy so that later he can travel or marry a shopkeeper’s daughter. He’s doing it because it’s what he wants to do,’ thought the boy.” Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
"My ribcage, something definitely happened there. It was as if it unknotted itself from itself, like the hull of a ship hitting rock, giving way, and the ship that I was opened wide inside me and in came the ocean." Ali Smith, Girl meets boy
Other people are so much better at articulating things I'm feeling or thinking (see above). The idea of fittingness seems elusive, but the pursuit of it is worthwhile. It is especially pertinent as a college student trying to figure out what I like to study and do, a refreshing take on the hackneyed advice to discover your passion.