This may seem weird to some people, but I think filming mini vlogs of your daily life helps romanticize the mundane. Most of the time people only film the grand moments in their lives but I think having little clips of you making coffee or tidying up makes your "boring" routine so much more enriching. And these don't need to be posted anywhere. They can be snapshots for yourself.
I try to live me life now not thinking about how I add more into my life, but rather how I can get more out a what is already there. I'm trying to move away from the capitalist mentality of always needing to add things- money, possessions, people, holidays, ideas. I ask myself how I can make do with what I already have and experience it in a new way. Can I repurpose something? Can I notice something new on the same streets I walk? Can I get to know a person on a deeper level? Can I reread a book I already have and find new meanings? This helps me stop and smell the roses more.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to wake us up. I just spent four days in the hospital, diagnosed with both pneumonia and flu. I've been relatively healthy, almost all of my life. I had never stayed overnight in a hospital before. The staff was great, and they got me back to near normal. At the same time, I spent many quiet hours wondering about mortality and what I should be doing and how I should clean up my apartment so that my heirs don't have to deal with all of my old junk, etc. etc. etc. This experience has sure been a wake-up call for me. Now that I'm home, I'm starting to pare away at the "stuff" and get it ready to donate to local charities and recycling centers. I was given a window into What Could Happen. Now I have the power to change that course.
For me, it was the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. She gets a second chance and she tries not to waste it. She clings to her grandparents and cherishes them, knowing their time is near. She mentors the nerdy kid most of us ignored. It’s a movie of savoring and doing what you can cuz you know what’s important. (Not the bs in your head).
I got to play George in “Our Town” when I was a junior in high school. That was 50 years ago. That play, and particularly that line, has stuck with me for the rest of my life. Thanks for reminding me of its power again.
You might enjoy Ann Patchett’s latest novel, Tom Lake, if you haven’t read it. Our Town is a major part of the novel (in a semi-Shakespearean play-within-a-play type structure).
I really needed to hear this today. I was laid off and am looking for a job which has left me feeling not very grounded. Just this morning, I noticed the warmth of a hug from my 8 year old who hugs me less these days, the sun in my face sitting in the donut shop, and just how amazing a fresh donut and chai tastes. Life is good.
Have you watched Perfect Days? For me it was the best movie I saw in 2024 and is basically about this. The original name of the movie was Komorebi, that is a japanese word for the beautiful patterns that light creates when passing through leaves. They are always unique if you pay enough attention.
Six years (!) of cancer taught me to stop and smell the proverbial roses. Strangely I found enormous joy. The joy rests in the present, here and now. Be here and enjoy the day!
As others have noted, it can take a crisis to open our minds. Mine was an advanced breast cancer diagnosis. I'm now on a mission to help others... but that's another story.
I have sadly had to give up acting as I don't trust my 'chemo brain'. But I want to tell my little story about drama unveiling deep truths about life. I was privileged to play Titania in outdoor summer performances of a Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream in three different productions spanning 12 years. (In the UK; weather unpredictable). The first was set in the 1920's (lots of sequins and feathers), the second was a modern punk style (white boiler suits, I ask you) and the third in traditional Elizabethan costume. The story is so good it works in any timeframe, but my favourite was the last.
We think of the Dream as a pastoral comedy with fairies and a bewitched ass. But it's so much more than that. Shakespeare could be extremely prophetic. Titania has a long impassioned rage against Oberon, berating him for changing the climate with his selfish ways (in a nutshell). She speaks of storms, floods, frosts and devastation. Sound familiar? Do read it peeps, it's beautiful and scarily close to the bone if you think of Oberon as a metaphor for mankind.
Search: {titania Act II Scene I "these are the forgeries of jealousy"}
This may seem weird to some people, but I think filming mini vlogs of your daily life helps romanticize the mundane. Most of the time people only film the grand moments in their lives but I think having little clips of you making coffee or tidying up makes your "boring" routine so much more enriching. And these don't need to be posted anywhere. They can be snapshots for yourself.
I try to live me life now not thinking about how I add more into my life, but rather how I can get more out a what is already there. I'm trying to move away from the capitalist mentality of always needing to add things- money, possessions, people, holidays, ideas. I ask myself how I can make do with what I already have and experience it in a new way. Can I repurpose something? Can I notice something new on the same streets I walk? Can I get to know a person on a deeper level? Can I reread a book I already have and find new meanings? This helps me stop and smell the roses more.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to wake us up. I just spent four days in the hospital, diagnosed with both pneumonia and flu. I've been relatively healthy, almost all of my life. I had never stayed overnight in a hospital before. The staff was great, and they got me back to near normal. At the same time, I spent many quiet hours wondering about mortality and what I should be doing and how I should clean up my apartment so that my heirs don't have to deal with all of my old junk, etc. etc. etc. This experience has sure been a wake-up call for me. Now that I'm home, I'm starting to pare away at the "stuff" and get it ready to donate to local charities and recycling centers. I was given a window into What Could Happen. Now I have the power to change that course.
For me, it was the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. She gets a second chance and she tries not to waste it. She clings to her grandparents and cherishes them, knowing their time is near. She mentors the nerdy kid most of us ignored. It’s a movie of savoring and doing what you can cuz you know what’s important. (Not the bs in your head).
I got to play George in “Our Town” when I was a junior in high school. That was 50 years ago. That play, and particularly that line, has stuck with me for the rest of my life. Thanks for reminding me of its power again.
You might enjoy Ann Patchett’s latest novel, Tom Lake, if you haven’t read it. Our Town is a major part of the novel (in a semi-Shakespearean play-within-a-play type structure).
I really needed to hear this today. I was laid off and am looking for a job which has left me feeling not very grounded. Just this morning, I noticed the warmth of a hug from my 8 year old who hugs me less these days, the sun in my face sitting in the donut shop, and just how amazing a fresh donut and chai tastes. Life is good.
Have you watched Perfect Days? For me it was the best movie I saw in 2024 and is basically about this. The original name of the movie was Komorebi, that is a japanese word for the beautiful patterns that light creates when passing through leaves. They are always unique if you pay enough attention.
Six years (!) of cancer taught me to stop and smell the proverbial roses. Strangely I found enormous joy. The joy rests in the present, here and now. Be here and enjoy the day!
Infinite blessings to you and wishing you decades more for sniffing all the literal and figurative roses in your life. 🌹 🌹 🌹
As others have noted, it can take a crisis to open our minds. Mine was an advanced breast cancer diagnosis. I'm now on a mission to help others... but that's another story.
I have sadly had to give up acting as I don't trust my 'chemo brain'. But I want to tell my little story about drama unveiling deep truths about life. I was privileged to play Titania in outdoor summer performances of a Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream in three different productions spanning 12 years. (In the UK; weather unpredictable). The first was set in the 1920's (lots of sequins and feathers), the second was a modern punk style (white boiler suits, I ask you) and the third in traditional Elizabethan costume. The story is so good it works in any timeframe, but my favourite was the last.
We think of the Dream as a pastoral comedy with fairies and a bewitched ass. But it's so much more than that. Shakespeare could be extremely prophetic. Titania has a long impassioned rage against Oberon, berating him for changing the climate with his selfish ways (in a nutshell). She speaks of storms, floods, frosts and devastation. Sound familiar? Do read it peeps, it's beautiful and scarily close to the bone if you think of Oberon as a metaphor for mankind.
Search: {titania Act II Scene I "these are the forgeries of jealousy"}
Love this Chris - so true 🙏 Are we taking enough notice of it all?