We’re arrived at that part of the year where it feels like time is slipping through our fingers. It seems like the summer sun just left and suddenly it’s almost November. Conversations about holiday plans and closing out Q4 and plans for 2024 and the rest of our lives. It’s easy for me to get so swept up in the making of life, that I forget to be present for it.
What a waste to make all these beautiful plans, to be filled to the brim with ambition and hopes and dreams, to not be a witness to the unraveling of it all as its happening. I don’t have to tell you that we live in a culture that is literally fighting for our attention. Our distractedness pulls away from the people and the passions that bring our life meaning and fulfillment. We worry ourselves about whether we are living a life of purpose and wonder why the bone-deep exhaustion won’t lift. We’re on our phones during a conversation with a loved one instead of giving ourselves and each other the gift of presence and intention. We’re barreling through our days, checking items off to-do lists, rather than finding pockets of stillness throughout the day to listen to the quiet nudges of Spirit. We’re not doing enough of what brings us joy.
I am only twenty six years old and I often find myself doubting how much longer I can go on living at this breakneck pace. No matter how “off-grid” or “counter-cultural” or “soft-girl” you try to live, the incessant feeling of rush seems to find you. It’s everywhere. It’s so deeply entrenched, it seems inescapable.
We watched Live to 100: Secrets of Blue Zones on Netflix and learned the keys to longevity in regions of the world that have a large population of centenarians. The results were more intuitive than I would have thought. The secrets ranged from eating whole foods, staying active through everyday activities to spending time in community, and feeling like you are making a contribution of some sort. Most of the blue zones are outside of the US, but one is in Loma Linda, California.
I’m returning to Los Angeles soon and while there is so much I miss about the place that made me – family, community, the way the sun dances along the coast, our green couch – I'm feeling conflicted about returning to a place that often leaves me feeling like a cog in the machine. I know peace isn’t place based, but it’s been refreshing to find out that I enjoy slow, simple living in quieter corners of the world. For now, Los Angeles is home, and I’m looking forward the familiarity, but these are just thoughts that keep bubbling to the surface.
I’ll leave you with this. Our life is the summation of small daily rituals, so I thought I would share some of mine that help to slow down time.
Sitting down and enjoying a morning beverage
Morning pages – three pages of stream of conscious downloading, no reading it back
Giving thanks before a meal, alone or shared
Leaving your phone behind and going for a stroll through the neighborhood or trail
Getting lost in a fiction novel or people watching, anything that gets you outside of yourself for awhile
That’s it for now. Until next time. I hope you’re taking care of yourself.
- Asha Nia
I love this and you so much!