Zen in the art of Living

Zen in the art of Living by Magicthreadworks

A few years back I watched this documentary “ Jiro dreams of Sushi “ about a celebrated Sushi Chef for whom people reserve a booking months in advance to have a meal worth $300. When the documentary further investigated his process, I was deeply humbled by the detailing and care that goes into every step of the process, including which supplier will provide fish for the Sushi and are they taking steps to preserve the healthy ecosystem for the fishes. What I felt really odd though was how Jiro has spent almost 50+ years of his life following the same routine everyday, not even taking holidays in between. Words like sacrifice and pity start surfacing to mind while I felt really sad for how he may not have really lived.

It’s been almost 8 years since, during this time I have been trying to reach the same old goals of my life and failing miserably each year. Until one day I encounter the philosophy of Atomic Habits, which states you can start with a very easy part of the activity — done for a very small amount of time — everyday — then try and keep on improving just 1% each time. The keyword is “Everyday". I have applied it in my life and I see that it does hold merit.

One of the goals that I was trying to master was to write better. To understand the process better I start following writings of writer on writing. A common started to appear. Most of them just write minimal 1000 words everyday. In his autobiography “ What I talk about, when I talk about Running “ Haruki Murakami talks about this process of his where he writes and runs almost every day. A routine that he has mastered.

Now that you might have an inkling of what I am getting at. Do this one thought exercise with me. Design a perfect day for yourself, which includes all of your favourite activities. If those are your favourite activities then you would be irritated if you are asked to replace any one of those activities with any other for a day. If you are with me so far then don’t you think “An ideal life is nothing but an ideal day lived with a higher intensity than last”.