My mother is an immigrant from Vietnam. She once told me that the main difference from her country to America is that Americans are always so busy– whether that be with work, education, or managing the stability of their life– it’s difficult to take a break, almost like the ethic of work is engrained in one’s regime. My mom told me this years ago, before I came to college and it hasn’t been until recently that this thought came back to light: when I understood it. This time of the semester is stressful for many students as I… “my assignments are due,” “my finals are soon,”… people in this world are so busy, but why? Perhaps because our responsibilities easily overwhelm all else, that our nature is naturally drawn to protect our mind, because we all live for this one breath. And so naturally, I became so busy that I started to forget about the people that matter around me, the whimsical amenities that I once paid attention to, I no longer do. When was the last time I spared an hour to catch up with my friends? Or, perhaps volunteered my time to greater issues outside of my own? When you look at it, the stressors that we endure right now are privileged to those who face burdens much larger than that we can comprehend.Â
When you step outside the mind of your own, you will realize that we only live for ourselves, everything’s “my this” and “my that”, busy for a whole lifetime, for me. In the end, this one breath stops, and you let go of it all. So, why not let go of it from the start? My mother, who once told me that Americans were so busy, was actually telling me to take a breath, and to relax. You don’t have to sacrifice living in order to be able to live. Pay attention to worldly issues, do something selfless, be a part of society. Because once you step outside of a mind that revolves around yourself, then you will realize how much more manageable it is to breathe. Â