I remember standing in the heart of the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro in Lucca, Italy. For those who are not familiar with Lucca, it is a walled historic city surrounded by greenery — the quintessential Tuscany experience except for the hills. I remember the breeze, the birds, the calm with which everyone had their espresso sitting down at one of the sidewalk cafés, still finding time to connect, to laugh, to people-watch. I felt jealous.
The jealousy was stemming from that part of me that needed to be always on the go. That part of me that was always yearning, wanting, moving. At that point in time, my mind was still incredibly convoluted.
I was in the middle of completing my finance programme, and during the summer break, I had decided to spend some time in Rome. Lucca, thus, was a marked contrast. It reminded me of the reasons why, before this Roman holiday, I had traded laid-back Budapest for the hustle and bustle of London.
My mind constantly paced. I wanted to graduate and work in London or New York City and become one of those shrewd, suited-up Wall Streeters or Canary Wharfers that had, according to some, made it big.
Amidst my confusion, strolling around Lucca’s cobblestoned streets, I gazed upwards, looking directly at a billboard on top of a small trattoria. It read: Le cose semplici sono le migliori. The best things in life are the simplest. I wish my mental humdrum had been quieter so I could fully absorb such profound wisdom.
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Three years after my visit to Lucca, and as I was making strides in my personal development and spiritual healing journey, I joined a book club where every month we read something that would help us have a better life. This way, I found The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod’s bestseller where he shares how he changed his life by changing how he starts his day.
Needless to say, this book had a tremendous impact on my life, and my morning routine remains an essential practice of my day-to-day.
There was, however, a period where I felt intensely pressured. As I learned more about morning routines, I found so much information and so much must-dos that I had a hard time trying to cram it all in. I had a hard time discerning which practices would work the best for me.
This happened because I was profoundly influenced by the media, and its countless stories about all that people like Bill Gates and Barack Obama do while the rest of the world is asleep, and how we should do the same if we hope to attain the same level of success. This triggered the intensely-competitive, longing-for-something part of my personality.
Fortunately, I’ve never been a one-size-fits-all type of person. And even though it took me time, I feel grateful I was able to step out of that game — the picture-perfect yoga plus juice cleanse plus chronograph-timed meditation morning routine — which has the danger, in my opinion, of becoming the same ghost-hunting outing as chasing wealth, or fame, or the perfect body.
If you, like me, have struggled with this for some time, my message for you is: you are worthy, with or without a routine. With or without any results. If you can remember this, every morning, you’ve already achieved more than anything a routine can give you. And you’ll be free to engage in any routine you desire out of wholeness, not out of a need to be completed by the latest trendy poses and superfoods.
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For the past few months, with the exceptions of those times where I have ongoing appointments in the early hours, I have stopped using an alarm clock. This doesn’t mean that I wake up late. For the most part, I am an early to bed, early to rise type of person.
But I have been adjusting to living in sync with the rhythm of my body.
As a part of this, I decided to tweak my routine.
When I wake up, and after I prepare my simple morning drink — hot water, lemon, and honey — I sit or lay down in my garden. I connect with trees, with birds, and bury my bare feet in the ground. I let my eyes wander and form patterns with clouds.
That’s it. If my mind gets active, I use my Ho’oponopono meditation mantra — I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you — to get back to center and shut it down.
Those who know me might be surprised by reading this. And rightly so. The productivity-driven, intensely-creative idea developer they know does nothing for the first thirty minutes of his day, except purely being.
And purely being has made all the difference.
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The reason why this approach has been so beneficial for me is that it encourages me to step out of myself. By connecting with nature, and with the Universe-at-large, I feel part of something larger. I am reminded that I am not alone, and that everything — including my struggles — are part of a higher plan. I am reminded that the world does not revolve around me. I am able to find joy in simple things.
The irony is that by doing this, I can be significantly more productive, because my mind, the consistent chatter that is often my main source of distraction, is now quiet.
I am also more compassionate and caring with the people around me, because I am present enough to acknowledge THEIR presence, instead of being completely self-absorbed rushing from one thing to the next, as I used to do for a long time.
Simply being reminds me how important it is to just be, and to be one with everything instead of seeing myself as this individual entity that is separate from everything, and that needs to fight against it.
Nature, I have found, is a great ally in our daily give-and-take with fear.
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The other shift where this practice has helped me is by evoking the short-lasting, temporary nature of everything. By engaging with the world, I can see its fleeting essence, and it makes me more grateful for what I do have.
How often do we neglect our loved ones, all while pursuing an illusory ghost that will keep eluding us until the day our present body dies?
Every morning, as I begin my day looking at the horizon, I reminisce about that day in Lucca. I wish I had known then what I know now — it would have saved me a lot of painful struggles. But it is never too late. In a society obsessed with image, branding, grandiosity, and perfection, a universal, ancient truth has not changed. In fact, it might be more valuable now than it has ever been.
The best things in life are the simplest.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Jane Ackerley on Unsplash