How life feels like when you finally have time to breathe

An invitation to live with intention.

The last few days of my life have led to an interesting realisation - when you bind yourself with timelines, there is a higher sense of urgency. You feel like you have less time to truly be with yourself until the fear of falling behind starts to creep in. ‘Time’ in itself is an interesting concept. We never have enough of it. What we do have is the power to decide how to spend it. After years of multi-tasking my way through life, I finally know how it feels to ‘not rush’. To rest not because you are physically incapable of working non-stop, but with an intention to fill your cup. It feels exciting at many levels - like starting something new but also mastering something you are already good at. You realise that there is beauty in embracing the present while also having to choose between pursuing the endless hobbies you’ve been putting off for this exact moment.

One day, while walking in my neighbourhood, I found a cute little flower shop and ended up spending a good 20 minutes picking out flowers for my kitchen. I didn’t have anywhere else to be at that moment. There was nowhere else I’d rather be as well. When you give yourself time to breathe, the universe rewards you with peace in what is unfolding right in front of you. The present moment, i.e, the only moment you ever really have.

It pains me to admit that I struggle to slow down. There have been countless occasions when I have put off hobbies for tasks that I believe will bring me success, whatever that is in the outside world. I am sure I am not the only one. We feel that there is plenty of time for us to follow our hearts when we finally climb that mountain. Little do we know that there are countless other mountains that we will always want to climb in this life. All the hobbies take a backseat. This time, and hopefully every other time, I am allowing myself to pause and appreciate the view from the mountain I just climbed before hopping onto the next one. I sleep in on the weekends if I want to. Make some coffee in the middle of the day and read my book for as long as I want to. Learn to play the piano. Solve puzzles. Or do nothing. The intention is to nurture the mind, body and soul in the way they deserve.

As life got busy, I became less and less intentional about the connections I built over the last few decades. I struggled to show up on time (something I see as an absolute sign of respect for people’s time), started forgetting birthdays and did not check in with loved ones as much as I should have. There’s a lot, often the meaningful stuff, we ignore on our journey to achieve ‘success’. A right sense of balance in life allows us to show up as better versions of ourselves, not just for our own self but for the ones who shaped us. The ones who deserve the best version of us. That is exactly what a season of pause gave me. It made me feel accomplished beyond my career.

If there is one thing the recent seasonal shift in my life has taught me, it is that a life lived with intention is a lot more meaningful than a life lived on autopilot. If you strive for that meaning, you are on the right path.

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THIS WEEK’s RECOMMENDATIONS

I was craving a sense of familiarity this week so I went back to some of my old recommendations from the last few months. Some of them that stood out (yet again)-

• How to Stay Calm When Your Mind Starts to Spiral by Mindful Journal.

• The heaviness of failure. by A girl, a spiral.

• The more I heal, the less ambitious I become. by Nadia Meli.

• A Few Things by

  Patrick Muindi
  .

• Am I brave enough to suck? by

  Mika
  .

• Slow Down To Speed Up! by

  Emily Male
  .

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If you enjoy reading Unwind, I would love it if you consider recommending the publication to your readers. Simply go to your dashboard > Recommendations > Manage > Add recommendation > Unwind.

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Life, in retrospect.

Life Lessons