Stop Living On 2x Speed

As a writer, I spend much of my day absorbing the world outside myself. I collect field notes of interactions I witness and what it intrigues in me.

This doesn’t happen if I’m constantly on my apps. This doesn’t happen if I’m clouding my mind with future worries.

This only occurs when I step out of the 2x speed of digital entertainment and to-go coffee cups.

What’s real? What IS the real world and why do we consider it a novelty when every day can be a connection to someone passing by or a Monet sunset?

Every day can be a gift when you choose to interact feet on the earth.

Stop sanitizing yourself from the earth.

Get in sync.

Live raw.

Feed the earth that feeds us. If you take, you must give in return. Nature reclaims itself always. As intelligent beings, our nobility and advancements as humankind can get in our heads a bit, but nature always humbles us in the end.

When I dive into the ocean or claw my hands in the dirt, my bones regenerate. Wherever I find the sun or places I summon the moon, they are places where I feel most charged and cleansed. When I am connected to the earth’s crust, I live with a steady heart.

Expressions of Life: Around the Globe

There are many ways the ease of life is sought and expressed across oceans and distant landscapes. Every culture has been given a principle of living that requires oneself to slow down in order to acquaint themselves with the world and who they wish to be in it.

Of course, in Spain they famously take their required “Siesta” or nap mid-day like most European countries and even in the Middle East. “Ruh” or Ruhi” is Arabic for soul or ascending in Sanskrit. To be soulful and full of life. In Costa Rica, there’s a positive expression called “Pura Vida” that translates to pure life. In Italy they say, “La Dolce Vita” or the sweet life. In Sweden there is my favorite adopted traditional named “Fika” which is a coffee and sweet break in whatever time you desire. I usually take mine at 2:00pm.

Ceremonies

Mainly, I’d like to say that your days must be devotional. Life is a series of ceremonies or rituals that give the life we live meaning or a new vantage point. Without slowing to cherish something that makes the day brighter, novel or surprising, I’m sorry to say you’re not doing it right.

Take this moment to task yourself the practice of novelty and gratitude. You are the designer of your day.