Why is it that whenever we recall our childhood memories, lovely scenes always come to mind? Why do we feel an endless longing for those days? This subject has always fascinated me. After thinking about it for a long time, I believe I’ve found a logical basis for this longing: having few responsibilities. Being a child really just means “being in the moment”. It means discovering. There’s no weight of the past or worry about the future; there are only the friendships, games and family of that moment. As we grow up, the way we look at the idea of “staying in the moment” changes. For a long time I understood the motto Carpe Diem (Seize the Day), which most of us come across, as something like “be irresponsible, just enjoy the time”. Yet its real meaning is far deeper and more healing. Life gains meaning as we look back on the past through our experiences, and it is planned as we look towards the future. But the most important thing is being able to stay right in the middle of the two, that is, in the moment. Savouring the food you eat, finding peace in the home you live in, wholeheartedly celebrating a friend’s birthday or simply drinking a coffee… Every moment is unique, and each moment deserves to be given its due. Time Is Not Linear, It Is Cyclical. Realising this truth wasn’t easy for me. What really helped me grasp it was understanding that time is not linear but periodic (cyclical). We live time like the seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn… Each period has its own way of seeing things, its own clothing and its own mood. Just as we adapt to the cold and put on our coats when winter comes, we should adapt to life’s cycles in the same way. Once we embrace the idea that time is not just a straight line, staying in the moment becomes easier and we build a more peaceful connection with our surroundings. At the start of this piece I mentioned accumulating. Accumulating what we learn actually contains “repetition” within it. Because you talk to a friend again and again, you know their good and bad sides and you truly get to know them. But how do you talk to yourself? Have you ever gathered up your own values? My suggestion to you is to write these down somewhere: What have you achieved so far? What have you lost? What challenged you the most? When you write them one under the other, the picture that emerges may surprise you. This remembering and accumulating will give you the greatest gift: to stop comparing yourself with others and simply be yourself. At that moment, take a deep breath; peace and life are now with you. You can embrace the happiness, sorrow, joy or grief that life brings with your whole being. Remember, our brain is really like a six-year-old child; it immediately believes whatever you tell it. Used correctly, this is a tremendous power. You don’t need to discover new worlds; simply by repeating, taking notes, talking to yourself and breathing, you can regulate your brain. Sometimes just going for a walk and resting is the most precious part of that cycle.