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Let me take this opportunity to welcome everyone to the first blog article of 2020.  I must admit the break from blogging has accorded me the opportunity to connect the dots and ponder on what the future holds for me.  But the break has also helped me to appreciate the power of the present. Let’s face it, we don’t live in the past and we don’t live as yet in the future.  We live in the present. It is the present that counts. In that regard, I have dedicated my blog articles for 2020 to be on how we can make our present count for us. Often in our lives we are battling demons from the past that clouds us from enjoying the fruits of the present. Sometimes we worry a lot about the future that we forget that we are alive in the present.

Image by Umut Yilman on Unsplash

You will discern the line “let go of the past” throughout most of my articles this year because I truly want everyone I come into contact with to live meaningfully in the present.

Let go of the past like you would let go of your kite.

Live in the present.

Welcome to 2020.

In layman’s understanding Zen simply means “peace of mind”. And that is the understanding we shall run with. The phrase “peace of mind” is synonymous with the words; calmness, coolness, serenity, quietness to name a few.

Photo by Simon Rae on Unsplash

Let’s face in these days’ lives it is difficult to find one’s peace of mind. We are bombarded by all sorts of distracting stimuli. Eventually, we run around until we tire out without achieving any meaningful results.

When we don’t achieve what we want we get disappointed.

As we all know, when disappointments pile up or are not managed properly that can create a plethora of emotional problems (stress, anxiety, mood swings, etc.) which may also manifest into physiological problems.

Peace of mind one can navigate through all the noise, the disappointments, and the distracting stimuli without going crazy.

And finding your peace of mind doesn’t need to cost you a limb. It can be achieved freely without the need to buy it.

If for some reason, you can’t cope on your own; seeking the services of a competent and licensed professional is a necessity.

The suggestions I am about to share with you helped me at no cost when I was broke and going through the emotional turmoil – I called the “abyss” a couple of years back. I still use them to cope.

And I believe they will be of help to you as well. The suggestions are not conclusive, not meant to be prescriptive and you don’t need to adopt all of them to find the peace of mind.

Let’s now have a look at the Zen freebies.

1. Breathe in and breathe out (about 4 or 5 times) when feeling overwhelmed. Cost: $0
2. Be grateful that you are alive and still have your family and everything you hold dear. Cost: $0
3. Consult your God. How you consult your God is up to you but do consult your God. You may pray, fast or meditate; it is all up to you. Cost: $0
4. Cry if you have to. Crying reduces distress with the higher levels of stress hormones contained in tears and has a soothing effect.
5. Engage in a light exercise for a few minutes every day. Cost: $0
6. Draft an action plan to tackle issues that may be leaving you overwhelmed. The plan must-have list of manageable to-do mini actions. Cost: $0
7. Have adequate sleep to wake up refreshed (7-8 hours average). If for some reason, you can’t find the recommended 8 hours, swing in a nap or two during the course of the day. Cost: $0
8. If you have to talk about the issue stealing your peace of mind immediately, call or visit a trusted relative or even friend and talk to them. If you need help let them know you need such. Cost: Range from free to few $ depending on where and how you would contact the trusted relative or friend.
9. Eat right and Hydrate adequately. When one is going through tough times, often the temptation is to resist doing the right self-care habits. And it doesn’t help the situation one is in the long run. Cost: May range from $0 to a few $ that may accrue from diet adjustment. Under normal circumstances the food we already have in our pantries is sufficient – only the devil is in the cooking.
10. If you have to “release” or “debrief” through writing, do it. A piece of a book in the house will you serve you well. Who knows; the notes may become your best-selling book in the future. Cost: $0 (but if you have to but a journal, it may cost a few $).

Thank you for reading.

This list is merely self-care suggestions I am offering and they are not in any way a substitute for professional advice from licensed health and nutrition professionals.

Caution: affiliate link ahead.

If you are in need of a Zen professional program in 2020, I recommend you try out the folks at Zen 12.

I recommend this book, Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. It will certainly be of help as well.

Thank you for reading this blog post.

*Boiki Keaitaya is a non-practicing trained school counselor.

Today, the 4^th November is WORLD COMMONSENSE DAY. And that got me thinking;

“What is this thing called – commonsense by the way?

I decided to visit Wikipedia’s for wisdom.

This is what I got.

“Common sense is sound practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge that is shared by (“common to”) nearly all people. The first type of common sense, good sense, can be described as “the knack for seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done”. The second type is sometimes described as folk wisdom, “signifying unreflective knowledge not reliant on specialized training or deliberative thought”. The two types are intertwined, as the person who has common sense is in touch with common-sense ideas, which emerge from the lived experiences of those commonsensical enough to perceive them”. Continue reading “WORLD COMMONSENSE DAY – 4th NOVEMBER”