I got to the end of Erasmus* and began to fizzle out.
This week was the first of many "normal" weeks that I'll be having this semester: chock full of required readings, event planning, and learning to skate. And each day I come home more tired and more ready to cut out early on anything that I'm doing in order to get a few more minutes of sleep - and that does not exclude writing blog posts!
The weariness that befalls me each semester at college is often rewarding, but nonetheless it takes a lot out of a person. Activities that I use to get away from academic work are often just as draining, but in different ways (roller derby, cough cough). But I struggle forward day by day, moment by moment, with my head working in lists and my path traced out by schedules on notebook paper.
However, I've noticed one discrepancy between class and outside activities: I live in the moment more when I am doing outside activities than when I am in class. I start to drift off and think about what I'll be doing next rather than what I'm involved in at that moment. And I used to think that was ok, until it wasn't. Until I realized that I shouldn't be privileging some moments of my life over other ones. Fortunately, I know the trick to keeping present, even in the moments that I'm least engaged in.
Breathing.
Simple, but effective, I am making the commitment to myself this week to focus on breathing and living in the moment regardless of the situation. Because every moment of life is important; none has a special tag labeled "URGENT" that should be given more attention.
Do you agree?
*Renaissance author whose book, Praise of Folly, required 130+ footnotes.
