Having a friend who recently ran from war does wonders to my mental health. Whenever I’m feeling exhausted, hopeless, or overwhelmed, I ask myself “Could I explain what’s happening to Lilia? What would she say, or do in my situation?”. Framed this way, a lot of my concerns seem like very first-world problems. She can certainly empathize with the challenges of children getting sick or waking up at night. But the questions of meaning, fulfilment, life mission, or purpose are alien to her at this stage of life. She knows her primary job right now is to keep her kids sheltered, fed, and educated, and no kind of blue-collar work is below her if it helps them pay the bills.
What would Mazlow say?