April 21

Some of the things you give up occupy you more afterwards than before. You cancelled something, gave it up or didn't buy it, and now you think about having gone without. It becomes a small possession that you tend and occasionally show off, even if only to yourself.

It is different with things whose absence you no longer notice at all. At some point you realise that for months you haven't reached for something that once seemed indispensable. There was no decision, only a habit that quietly ran out.

That feels like freedom, and often it is. But not every need that disappears is easy to read. Sometimes you no longer need something because you have outgrown it. Sometimes you have only stopped wanting it because it was out of reach for too long or disappointed you too often. From the inside, both look equally calm.

You may notice the difference only when the thing is unexpectedly offered to you again and you hear how quickly you say no.