By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
The mundane days are a great reminder of what life truly looks like. The slow days which forces you to look at the smallest things. The leaves falling from the trees slowly as they float down to the ground. The wind flowing across a landscape covered by a golden sunshine. There are countless picturesque scenes across our lives but on many occasions, fail to stand still and appreciate these paintings created by mother earth.
Fast and faster, such is the creed for many in order to keep up with pressure, expectations, and the world around them. Many have been forced on a sprint, to get where they have to be before anyone else, to be in first place, at the cost of anything and everything they could give.
Now, I am in the area of life where things have finally slowed down. Where small chores dominate my day to day activities. More often looking across mountainous sceneries rather than rushing across tight hallways. Conversing with pets rather than discussing last minute actions in a group project. Everything has been mundane and each second as enjoyable as the days of being a student.
Simply going through the motions can be boring at times but does teach you consistency. Even on mundane days, you can build a structure for your days. Cleaning sessions are scheduled and being productive is always a possibility. Most of all, the slow days teach you to appreciate simply breathing in a new day.
Of all the living people on earth, not many can truly breathe. So many people are choked by capitalistic values. They must earn more and more and buy more and more. They are forced to be dominated and exploited by the upper class. They do not truly breathe the natural air but huff and puff the smokes of a deteriorating body and soul.
When I was younger, a person so engulfed by western propaganda, ambition purely driven by earning the most money than anyone else, to see older people simply sitting down as they tell stories amongst each other was the strangest thing. A view to be insulted and people to be looked down on.
As I made my way to this point in life, I have been forced to realize the truly valuable things in life. The moments of simply sitting amongst loved ones and telling stories, to bask in the view of our mountains, to sleep without worrying about unfair and inhumane deadlines, and to seep in the air under the sun. The slow days are not a waste of time but are moments that force you to live the way you were meant to.
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