Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash Over the last few years I’ve been more directly entering into grass root and radical spaces. On the one hand, I am inspired by the way in which these spaces can bring a sense of altruism and caring. There is a vision for a better world, even […]
Tag: #happiness
Re-learning to enjoy the little things
When we get so caught up in what we need to do, we can lose the joy in the day-to-day activities.
The focus often turns to efficiency, rather than pleasure. The relaxing morning coffee turns into a rushed caffiene consumption. The calming walk outside in nature turns into a step-counting exercise.
It seems to be happening more often to people around me. As we get squeezed into a sense of productivity, the focus is always how we can get more out of ourselves, squeezing the lemon that is our soul for every ounce.
The fool’s search for a sense of belonging
We all want to belong. Even the most reclusive, Grinch-like people we know deep down desire it.
The modern day message is that when we do not belong, we should simply move on. The magical land of belonging is just beyond the hill, over the rainbow.
Yet what if searching for such sense of belonging is just but a fool’s dream?
Renewing our connection with nature
I’ve spent so much time in the city recently, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be in the countryside.
In fact, most of my life has been in city dwellings. It’s a little ironic, because my ancestral history has been from a village in rural Sylhet.
There’s something about being away from people, noise and organisations. When we spend so much time in the busy rush, we forget that such things aren’t a definitive fact. We did not always exist surrounded by thousands and thousands of people. In fact, for most of human history we have spent time in relatively small settlements.
You are likely on the cusp of burning out
A new year has come along. Many people are settling back into work in the midst of fog and ice.
It sounds very fantasy novel, but the realities are anything but. A backlog of emails and a return to the feelings of tiredness and stress. It’s like we never went away.
We are a product of the entourage we find ourselves in. And the entourage I am in are feeling an extra level of downtrodden and tired.
If this is how you’re feeling right now, this is your big, fat, blaring warning sign. You are potentially on the cusp of breaking down. In fact, you already might be.
Conviction and walking our ‘right’ path
Photo by Sebastian Unrau on Unsplash How do we know we’re on the right path? We decide it. I’ve recently realised how much I question myself. I regularly wonder whether what I am doing is correct, and whether I should re-evaluate or choose a different tact. I have gotten so used to using my brain […]
Grounding ourselves in a whirlwind of emotion
For the first time in quite a while, I’ve been waking up feeling lighter and sprightly.
This was in sharp contrast to the last few months: I would often wake up with such a heaviness and anxiety that it was hard to get out of bed, let alone start the day.
These weren’t any quantifiable anxieties either. It was more of a base feeling of heaviness that was clouding my existence. It was extremely debilitating. The ‘logical’ solutions weren’t working.
But a few days ago, something changed quite dramatically.
Where there is discomfort there is growth
Yesterday I had the authentic German experience.
I woke up after an overnight coach in Hamburg. I had a few hours to kill before the train arrived.
Well, it turns out I had longer than that. My train was delayed. At the beginning it said by 30 minutes. No big deal I thought. Until it got delayed again, by 20 minutes. And again. Eventually it came 80 minutes later.
The experience was a testing one for my level of zen.
The way you do anything is the way you do everything
Who knows someone who is so focused on their own goals that they totally forget how they’re showing up in the other parts of their life?
For example, the friend who no longer turns up now that they’re in a relationship. Or the colleague who is so caught up in work that they fail to see that the deadline is not actually life-or-death.
It’s annoying right?
Well, newsflash. This also includes you.
Daring to dream of a crazy, beautiful life
The more I talk to people, the more I’m struck at how every one of us have beautiful dreams for our lives.
Unfortunately, many of us get resigned to the idea that such ideas are simply the tale of fiction. After all, we could never ever achieve something as preposterous as that.
But we were born to dream. It wasn’t a mistake. Nor was it a cruel torturous method to dangle a carrot in front of our faces that we were never destined to reach.