Mar
16
Life is Simple
Ten months into my sabbatical now, and I realize that life is so very simple. I feel like I used to have a very crowded mind, and now things are much more quieter… it is difficult for me to describe this…
I can thoroughly enjoy things now - like when I went to a curry place near my house, and the proprietor put out as dessert three strawberries from three different regions of Japan. I could taste the difference. I never used to do stuff like that before.
Being away from work, I don’t have any people-induced worries whatsoever. Even before, some people would say about me that they admired I never complained, but now I really don’t feel any animosity toward anyone. Absolutely none… so that when I see other people get angry, it seems a rather interesting phenomenon to me. They think in their heads “if he says this, then I’ll say this, and if he says that, well, I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” And so on, escalating the conflict in their heads. Stop it. Picture de-escalation instead. Also, in cafes I often see people mulling over their worries with a friend. This makes no sense to me. The person who is worrying you is not present. Your relation with him is just a mental construct. Of all the things you can talk about, pick something nice, and you will feel better.
I train Aikido almost every morning Monday through Saturday, so my body is in good shape, and I make sure to go to bed early enough to allow me to get up. (averaging 6 hours of sleep) With my body in a steady sleep rhythm, I am more energetic and awake. A lot of mood swings in the past must have been caused by disruption of sleep time on the weekends. Saturdays feel longer with me now getting up at 5am, and I’m happier for it.
Perhaps because of Aikido, I am more aware of my breathing – I generally take deep, slow breaths. This makes me aware of when people around me are taking shallow, quick breaths.
I am living a wealthy life. So many people work so hard, to acquire material things, like a house or a sports car, expecting it to make them happy. I can be happy now, for no good reason.
For my entire life, I have been climbing. Study to get good grades, to go to a good school, to get a good job, to get a salary. Ok. Good. Now I’m using that salary to fund my sabbatical and my projects. Ultimately, everything must be fun. Because, if you ever walk away from a job, all you have are the memories.
- Be happy now. Don’t put it off.
- Chew your food slowly (30 times). Really savor it before swallowing.
- Maintain a steady wake-up time.
- You don’t need a reason to be happy right now.
- Keep things real. Keep things fun.
If I can do this sabbatical every 7 years, I have only nine more times before I reach life expectancy.
I want to extend this.
