“We know the world only through the window of our mind. When our mind is noisy, the world is as well. And when our mind is peaceful, the world is, too. Knowing our minds is just as important as trying to change the world.”-Haemin Sunim
With little time, we are in the 3rd quarter of 2024 still there are a lot of things that can be completed from my vision board.
I was so busy throughout the year I just forgot to live in the present.
- I get so caught up in chasing big goals that I forget to slow down and celebrate the small wins along the way
- I forget to say thanks to the people who mean the most to me
- I hardly took the time for solo dates anymore
Looking back, in time I just regret not slowing down.
Slow living reminds us to prioritize what truly matters at our own pace, rather than rushing to do more in less time.
1. Simplifying life by focusing on what truly matters the most
Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.” — Leo Babauta
At the end of the day, we just have 24 hours in a day and sometimes we spend so much time on things that do not mean a lot to us.
- Staying on social media for too long
- Spending a lot of time worrying about yourself
- Or even not staying present
Simplifying makes life worth living.
2. Appreciating the world as it is
I can never read all the books I want. I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience as possible in my life. And I am horribly limited. — Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
A few months ago, I read The Midnight Library and came across a memorable quote in the story, which centres around a woman named Nora.
Nora, who was in her 30s, felt unloved and a failure. She was full of regrets.
“The worst part of all was that she knew she could have done things differently. She knew she could have been a different person. But she also knew that it was too late now. She was stuck in this life, and she couldn’t change it.”
- She regrets not doing geology at university instead of philosophy
- She regrets all those arguments with his dad
- She regrets not being a good sister
- She regrets not being married
She blamed all the things on herself and one day.
She knew only one thing with absolute certainty: she didn’t want to reach tomorrow.
And after that, she ended up in a library where every book was a portal to her life, in which she had made other choices.
“Between life and death, there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”
At the end of the day after living all of the choices that she never took, she is never happy until she accepts herself as she is.
3. Do things at your own pace
“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously.” — Sophia Bush
Sometimes we just set a high bar of expectation for ourselves
- to get up at a certain time
- to attend to a long to-do list
- to somehow be everywhere at once
When the day ends differently, we experience a familiar feeling of a sense of guilt and self-blame. But perhaps the reason we feel bad when we don’t get as much done as we wanted to. But maybe it’s not our fault. Maybe we just expected too much from the day
4. Practice Mindfulness
Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.”-Eckhart Tolle
After a couple of weeks of practicing mindfulness, it has become part of my bedtime routine
For sure, it took me more than a month to accept myself as who I am.
Once you do then you start to grow, in the end, it was worth it.
The bottom line
A gentle reminder that it’s okay to take time to grow, as our lives are inconsistent due to our ever-changing experiences, emotions, and desires. Sometimes, it’s perfectly okay when things don’t go according to plan.
