So I suppose the best piece of advice I could give anyone is pretty simple: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you developed an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast while in the shower?
Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over a pond and a stand of pines. Get a life in which you pay attention to the baby as she scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.
Turn off your cell phone. Turn off your regular phone, for that matter. Keep still. Be present.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work.
—Anna Quindlen
Image: “drops of purple ice” by Steve Wall via Flickr.
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
Yes, yes, and yes. xox
Rudri! I needed a reminder and this was it. Thank you for this great share xo 🙂
Glad it resonated with you, Mari.
Her description of what to notice is exactly why I love writing poetry.
Although I do not write poetry, I understand how crafting a particular phrase or metaphor could offer the chance to slow down and really notice what shapes you and your world.
Perfect. I love Anna Quindlen. And this reminds me of something I read yesterday by James Altucher: “Better to understand from the beginning that everything is a story. Live the real life and not the story life.”
Oh, Jena, I love these lines by Altucher. Thanks for sharing his words. xo
I love Anna Quindlen too, as well as Ann Patchett and Anne Lamott. I am starting to notice a theme.
Stunning. Perfect. I need to print this one out and tape it to my mirror.
Yes, I think I will take your advice, Sarah, and print it out too. Such a helpful and insightful reminder.
So beautiful. And I think every day how much I hold onto my money because I’m so scared of it all going away. And life is about so much more than that – letting go, releasing, enjoying, savoring.
Tamara: Savoring – I think that is the key word. In these days of hurry, it is nice to pause and slow down and appreciate all that is important in your world. xo
That’s a beautiful quite – and true because we limit and focus on very small aspects of like, like a promotion, instead of being present. We miss life that way. Thanks for sharing Rudri and have a great weekend! -Iva
Thanks, Iva. This quote also reminds me of another, “Pay attention to the small things because they maybe the big things.”
Such a great quote! Sometimes, I can’t believe it when I see people who are at a restaurant together and both are on their cell phone; or a parent walking with their child, but they aren’t paying any attention to their child because they are on their cell phone. It is a challenge to be still.
Robin:
I agree. It seems that more and more stillness is elusive – but ironically, for most of us it is exactly what we need. Nice to see you in my space. xo
I love this!
I am glad you like it, Windy. It is a great quote that I plan on printing to remind me what is important.
LOVE this so much.
This is perfect.