I changed into clean socks at 5 p.m. and it lifted my mood more than anything else had

Dear Delyara, The whole day had felt slightly wrong on my body — damp weather, wrong shoes, too much standing, low-level irritation. Then late in the afternoon I changed into clean socks, and something in me softened instantly. It was such a tiny physical kindness and yet it reached all the way in. I think I underestimate how much mood is bodily. Not only emotional weather or life circumstances. Sometimes the whole soul feels easier to carry because your feet are warm and dry. I’m writing this partly so I remember: sometimes the answer is not deeper. Sometimes it’s socks.