The Importance of Enjoying Life

When you attend a large, bureaucratic university, it can be very easy to get lost in the crowd, to feel like your little life does not have much purpose on a grander scale. What these first months back at the University of Toronto have probed me to do is set my priorities straight. I reintroduced the idea to myself of establishing short-term and long-term goals. What came out of this was the realization that happiness is my first priority in life. If I am not happy, if I am not able to overall enjoy my time here, then I have no use in being here. Yes, it is still worthwhile to consider the long-term goal of graduating and getting educated, but I should not have to sacrifice my day-to-day enjoyment of life for this.

Joie de vivre.

It is what I seek every single day. This is what gets me up in the morning, what keeps me motivated and balanced, and what keeps me moving forward. Some of the things I do to find my own joie de vivre:

• try something new every single day
• remember what I am thankful for
• appreciate small things
• push myself to do good things that make me uncomfortable (today I came before class to talk to my TA about an upcoming paper. AND I sat next to the cute boy in my class. Two things that are scary but will benefit me in the long run)
• be spontaneous
• explore
• make new friends
• ask people questions. about themselves, about their areas of expertise, about their passions...
• reflect
• set aside time for self love every single day
• meditate
• do yoga, try a new exercise class
• read a book or article that genuinely interests you
• cook something for fun, or something you have been meaning to try out
• talk to loved ones in person or on the phone
• do something creative —since, dance, write, paint
• discover new music
• immerse yourself in the communities around you—go to plays, operas, club meetings, protests, book signings, concerts, food drives, join new studios, get to know the baristas at your local cafes, go to the library

As you can see, the list goes on and on...

Basically, I want to emphasize how important it is to set aside some time to do these types of things every day.

Admittedly, some days are busier than others. U of T is very rigorous, and there are days when I am stuck going to class and studying for ten hours straight. Still, I always make time to do a little something for myself, to have a hygge moment if you will. I will make myself a nice cup of tea in the morning, or sit next to someone new in class and strike up a conversation with them. For me, spiritual suicide lies in the mundane, habitual tasks of everyday life. By pushing myself to keep a positive spirit and always look for beauty and newness in simple things, I have come to find a much better work-life balance and, more importantly, to stay persistently content in a place where it can be difficult to do so.

Maybe happiness is different for you. Maybe happiness is not your priority in life at all! I hope I have still inspired you in some way to make small changes and find a little bit of joie de vivre where there seems to be none.

Au revoir!