I LOVE my life.
These days, I have three main concerns.
They all pertain to the resolutions I made at the beginning of the year.
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One: Take photos of sunrises, and sunsets.
Two: Take photos of everything I eat.
Three: Post them on social media.
And so far, everything has been done right, and kept on schedule.
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I like the social media accountability.
I do not do it to get ‘likes’.
But I like the idea that my life is publicly documented.
It is in line with my idea of leaving my tracks, leaving my mark on this planet.
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To be fair, some people are inspired by my commitment to the beauty of sunrises and sunsets.
So it gives me some joy that people appreciate my sunrise and sunset posts.
But whether people like them or not, I do not care.
I do me.
And I have already appreciated the sun’s magic anyway.
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As for my food tracking, my intermittent fasting, it has influenced a lot of people on their health journey.
And even if it didn’t, I am happy with the result in my own body and lifestyle.
The last time I checked, I was 130 lbs.
It is an ideal weight for me.
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People see my life day in and day out this way.
That’s good for me.
But what’s even better for me is the self-awareness.
The mindful eating.
The mindful living.
The awareness of what I take in, what I eat.
The awareness of the world around me, the weather.
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It takes time to do what I do.
And discipline, of course.
But I have time and discipline.
And I am a better person because of them.
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Tell me, who is so rich that they spend their time only waiting for and looking at sunrises and sunsets?
Tell me, who is so rich that they are aware of every bit, every flavor of what they are eating?
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Some people are too busy to appreciate the sun, their food, nature, the people around them.
They are too busy making money.
Too busy running after things, realizing their dreams, maximizing their potentials.
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I am no longer running after things.
I am no longer trying to maximize my potentials.
I have already realized my dreams.
That’s how rich I am.
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I am so rich my only preoccupations in life are coffee, sun schedule, photography, social media.
While some people are preoccupied with jobs, punctuality, debts and salaries, net income, and maybe even fan following, I am just living simply.
And living my best life.
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With my intermittent fasting, I try to eat only twice a day.
Not because I am poor, but precisely because I am rich.
I am so rich that I can eat anything I want at anytime I want.
I do not have to follow the eating habits of poor people who have been conditioned to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner because they cannot afford brunch, and merienda cena, or midnight snack.
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I do not have to follow the eating schedule of workers, and people who have to go to work.
While poor working people are at work, I am just waking up and having coffee.
While they worry about other serious things, I only have to decide whether to have cake with my coffee.
Or have a full breakfast of eggs and steak.
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My ideal life has been interrupted in the last few months because of my world travels.
But the ideal is waking up to sunrise, prayer time, coffee, listening to music, reading a book, writing poetry, streaming a movie.
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I have been away from my music and video collection for a while.
I mean, I have sent them by balikbayan boxes since October 2020.
And I still haven’t opened the boxes.
(To be fair, I only arrived in Iloilo on August 4 after so many postponements.)
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Sure, I had Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Music, and all other entertainment apps, but it’s different when you are playing DVDs, CDs, vinyl records.
I miss the ritual of it.
I mean, choosing and watching a DVD movie is a commitment.
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Netflix streaming is easy, but feels tentative to me.
I mean, you can watch a movie, and if you get bored at the 15th minute, you can just press a button and flip to another film.
That doesn’t happen with analogues.
I like choosing a movie, and committing to it.
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We cannot truly evaluate something until we have fully experienced it, that’s my idea.
I am such a thorough person.
That’s why when I say something, you can be sure it has been well considered./PN
