In the world of self-development and all this talk about living a better life and improvement, all these kinds of things, there’s very naturally a focus on work, because we actually have to change things.
Life doesn’t just automatically get better.
We need to work in order to change the conditions that we’re in.
Either working around the things around us, so we can have shelter and food and all the good comforts of life, and also working on ourselves to improve our own internal environment, you could say.
So of course, it makes sense to have a lot of focus on I have to work harder, I have to keep achieving, I have a vision and I’m moving towards the vision.
And there’s this ongoing sense of like go go go, the hustle, and I’m trying to reach something that’s always a little bit out of sight.
And it is always out of sight.
Our dream, our vision, our goal, is always further, because there is no natural limit.
There’s no automatic limit where we just say “OK, I’ve reached my goal.
Everything is exactly as it should be.”
Because there’s always more that we could do.
We don’t automatically have a place where we can just say “Oh, of course, this is everything I need, so it’s time to stop trying to change things.”
So that work always continues.
And as long as we’re alive, and as long as we’re around, then there’s always more work on the list.
That to-do list keeps getting new items added to it, and there is no end.
But I think on the other side, there is a danger in getting too focused on the idea of achievement, and changing the way things are, and reaching some kind of goal.
Because that can’t be all that life is about.
It can’t be all about changing things and trying to reach some target that’s over the horizon.
Because life is happening right now.
While we’re doing that work, while we’re chasing the dream, while we’re trying to improve conditions, well, we also have the situation that we’re in right now.
And that’s just as much life as well.
It’s not all about changing things.
So it seems like something that is with the seasons.
There’s a time to stop having fun, or at least stop focusing on the fun, and focus on what are the steps I need to take to solve particular problems that are troubling me and people around me, and how do I improve the situation so that life can be better for everybody.
But in all of that, we can’t lose sight of also simply appreciating life.
And it makes me think of like kind of being a bit of a bum.
Being a being like a hippie bum.
Because that’s this idea like “Oh, we don’t need to work.
Let’s just enjoy life Like let it flow, man.
Just experience life.”
So if this is taken to the extreme, it might be seen as being a lazy bum.
But there’s a positive side to that, that we need to we need to remember what it’s like to simply appreciate life.
We need to have those moments of where we’re actually not trying to change conditions and improve conditions and work harder all the time, and just be able to enjoy uh all the gifts that we have, all the life that we have, the moments that we have, and simply appreciate life as it is, in between those times of working to improve things.
And I find for me that it seems to happen in the spring.
The spring and summer is when I get more of that feeling of just appreciating the moment, whereas in the fall and winter, that’s when I feel that more serious sense of wanting to get back to work and improve the foundations.
But it’s understandable why the focus is on the work, because it’s kind of easier to go into the just-enjoy-the-moment side.
It’s kind of fun, and it’s easier to just enjoy that.
Whereas the work takes obviously more effort.
But let’s not forget, with all the work that we’re doing, all the dreams we’re achieving, to remember that even today, the simple moment we’re in, is also like a dream.
It’s a goal.
It’s a place to be.
And let’s not forget to enjoy and appreciate the little things that are happening right now.
#livetoday #simpleliving #carpediem