This past weekend I was able to celebrate my 25th birthday amongst family and friends. While I felt very blessed and excited for the weekend’s festivities, I did go through a bit of my own quarter-century crisis. Celebrating life and all that I’ve experienced so far it felt silly to feel ‘off’ --but time sure has a funny way of sending you on a chaotic spiral. Questions like, “Have I been spending my time correctly?”, “Have I accomplished all that I need to?”, “How much time have I wasted already?” “Have I created anything real or impactful?” are thoughts that just touch the surface of my existential crisis. After taking some time and space to allow my thoughts to rise and settle I decided to finally journal and came to these 25 realizations that I’d like to share with all of you:
25 Reflections at 25 Y/O
Like cherry blossoms, embrace the transience behind all of life’s seasons
Flow with your own current and move in ways that feel naturally effortless, wu wei
Connect with nature as much as you can, see yourself as one with everything and watch how it changes how you treat everything around you
Redirect rejection to reflect your resilience
Prioritize your health mentally physically and spiritually - you only get one body to carry you throughout this life thing!
Wabi-Sabi - find the beauty in all things: the good, the bad, and especially the ugly
Respect and accept people as they are rather than clinging onto ideas of what you want them to change into
Accomplishing dreams takes more than mere motivation, discipline is what carries you on the days where your mind can’t!
Listen to your body, if it’s telling you to slow down: do it
If it’s true love, it will be kind, forgiving, encouraging, respectful and always patient
At the end of a long day, tune back in with yourself
Authenticity breeds originality, and is the foundation for all novel creation
Find work that feeds you purpose, and watch how the value of each day changes
You define your worth and not society, not institutions, not other individuals
Don’t be too shy to romanticize your life
It all starts in the mind, what you think, you believe and you recieve!
Practice gratitude even on the hard days
Help those around you, in whatever capacity you can
Self-care is not a prize to be won, it’s maintenance work: add it to the routine
Lead life with an open mind; high hopes, low expectations
In route to self-actualization, breathe
Refrain from depending on others to lead you towards happiness. You are at the center of your universe, and the source of your own joy.
Stay out of your own way
Know that you can always begin again
God is a reflection of you, of others and of all things. Move like so.
Needless to say, as I am currently writing to all of you, I am consciously grateful and extremely blessed to have rotated around the sun for 25 eventful years. I am even more indebted to all of you, as these last 3 years of running Joy Envisioned have also been the most beautiful years of my life. I have learned so much about myself, about wellness, and about the universe which could not have been possible without the help, encouragement, and support of everyone here. To share this virtual space has been an experience of a lifetime!