“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”
Dalai Lama XIV tweet
Such a strong and incredibly true statement about life. I love the adventures I went on yesterday (and the day, month, year before that) As evidenced by my perpetual Facebooking & blogging about trips but one thing is certain; without following the Dalai Lama’s advice I never would have made it on 99% of those excursions. If I sat around thinking about what awesome things I’ve already done (climbing waterfalls, exploring caves or summiting mountains) I’d never make it to the next one.
Son Doong, World’s Largest Cave
If I spent my days daydreaming about the next big adventure my future holds (Granted I do often do this in my leisure time. See below.) that expedition would never come to fruition. I never would have gotten off my butt in New Jersey and moved to Seoul, explored Son Doong (the world’s largest cave) floated in the dead sea or countless other unforgettable trips.
Floating in The Dead Sea
One of the reasons my posts have been sparse the last few weeks is I just started up a new language exchange. Every Tuesday night from 7:30-9:00 I convince a bunch of Koreans & foreigners to sit down and chat. We take half the time to speak in Korean and half to speak in English. We’re up to 16 members in just 5 weeks and everyone is enjoying this FREE opportunity to learn language and bridge cultural gaps. We’ve been negotiating contracts at my current school and its not confirmed but it looks like I’m gonna stay on board for another year, I’m even a candidate for the promotion to team leader!
That means I can’t wait to plan for my next BIG adventures (since I’ll have about 8 weeks of vacation to play with next year). I’ll be in Shanghai for 2 days in December before returning to NJ for the holidays (December 27th. Shindig at my parents place. Save the date!). I’m looking forward to a warm holiday in February (Thailand’s looking pretty enticing right now) and researching a Nepal trek to the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camps for as early as next summer. But I’m not just looking at the future I’m working TODAY to make that happen in some unforeseen tomorrow. I’m always looking for new opportunities to a)travel and b)make some extra money (just finished a flyer for English tutoring that I’m going to have some Korean friends proofread at tonight’s exchange!)
I try to be as productive as possible and I don’t like wasting time. Sure I take breaks, everyone needs trashy TV binges, HALO/Call Of Duty marathons, your occasional buzzfeed article or Sunday recoveries from questionable Saturday decisions. The trick is to strive to make them the exception rather than the norm. Budget leisure time just like you would a paycheck and you will quickly find that you are prepared for more and doing more. You will find new opportunities to save money through a little elbow grease and I’d be surprised if you can’t put your mind towards a new opportunity for some cash flow making tomorrow’s dreams even more likely.
Yesterday is in the past, tomorrow’s in the future, so remember that “today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live!” Whether that means learning something new, saying hello to a stranger, falling in love, calling an old friend or simply getting up and getting started you’re the one that’s in charge so do it today!
P.S. One last update for my family, friends and other followers! I’ve been getting back into shape with a sober September, promoting men’s health for Movember by hitting the gym, sharing advice, cooking as much (and healthy) as possible and of course growing a mean ‘stache. Can’t forget how epic Saturday night was my first 1920’s murder mystery! (p.s happy birthday Erin!)
