The Air Fryer and Enlightenment
Holding our highest hopes a little more lightly
My brother sent me a funny Instagram reel this week from comedian Davide De Pierro about the impossible task of buying a Mother’s Day gift.
In the bit, he expresses frustration at what his mother wants. Instead of saying something manageable like “an air fryer” or “a Yankee Candle,” she says, “I just want you to be happy.”
Which, of course, is both deeply loving and wildly unhelpful.
Because now the poor son has not been assigned a simple Mother’s Day mission. He has been handed a lifelong spiritual curriculum:
- Please attain fulfillment.
- Please heal your wounds.
- Please find your purpose.
- Please live in alignment with your deepest truth.
- And maybe call me more?
Honestly, a candle would have been easier.
And yet, as a mother, I get it. Of course we want our children to be happy. Not just momentarily pleased, but deeply well. We want them to be safe, fulfilled, peaceful, resilient, loved, self-actualized, and somehow protected from every heartbreak we know life will eventually bring.
And it isn’t only mothers who carry this kind of wish.
Many of us, as creative and generative beings, carry visions for the people and world we love. We want wellbeing, peace on earth, human flourishing, healing for the planet, justice, connection, and wholeness across every dimension of being.
Yes, beautiful. Also…a lot.
These visions can inspire us. They can move us toward compassion, service, creativity, and wise action. But they can also quietly become burdens. We can become attached to specific outcomes. We can confuse love with responsibility. We can start believing that if things are not okay yet, it must be because we have not worked, healed, helped, held, prayed, planned, or mothered hard enough.
And sometimes, in our longing for everyone’s ultimate wellbeing, we miss the small ordinary gift right in front of us:
- The awkward card.
- The slightly wilted flowers.
- The text message with no punctuation.
- And yes, the Yankee Candle and the air fryer.
All of the humble, silly, commercial, imperfect offerings of love.
So this Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about all of us Creative Catalyzers, Vibrant Visionaries, and Generative Geniuses — the parts of us that long to bless, mend, guide, protect, and transform everything we love.
May we honor those energies.
And may we release them, at least for a moment.
Not because the visions are wrong, but because they are not ours to carry alone.
Maybe the invitation is to care deeply, cling lightly, and receive the gift actually being given.
Even if it crisps vegetables.
Here’s to appreciating your air fryers.
