It is really hard to truly enjoy this wonderful thing called life, if our whole existence is about rushing around, sleeping late and medicating ourselves by over indulging in bad habits like shopping, over eating, alcohol consumption or drugs. The first step in mastering the art of living is to live and we do this by waking early in the morning and embracing the day ahead and its endless possibilities. This small change in your daily routine will produce amazing benefits because with more time, you will plan your day better generally and can then be more productive rather than reactive.
In the early morning there are less people around. Lines in the stores are shorter. There is less traffic and a much quieter environment creates much better concentration. The early morning is a great time to feel more natural because Mother Nature prefers it this way, as animals naturally rise early.
Early to bed, early to rise leaves us with more time to get more things done and if we meditate during this period we will attain a thoughtless state faster as positive energies are predominant during this time. Waking early does take persistence and do-it-or-perish commitment at first, but anyone can do this because even a classic night owl can transform into a morning person, if the motivation and spirit is there.
Once we have mastered the art of waking up early, we have to use the time we have to do something useful for our mind, body and soul, so getting into a daily early morning exercise routine is essential, fresh air and the silence will allow us space between the day ahead and the day before. The art of living is about understanding how physical exercise benefits the body biologically, not only to keep us healthy but also to prevent and treat disease because people who are physically active, live longer. Regular exercise does reduce the risk of dying prematurely.
Spending time outdoors and connecting with nature is the key to understanding wellbeing and exercising early morning is a powerful antidepressant, especially if you can manage 30 minutes every morning.
We are what we eat, so if our whole morning is spent being lazy in bed, followed by an unhealthy food intake, we are likely to end up fat, frumpy and forgotten by the world, something not useful when learning the art of living. Healthy eating is not just about the food on your plate, its about how you think about food, so we must learn how to eat smart, because its not what we eat but how we eat it, that counts. Our food choices reduce the risk of illness such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as depression and learning the habits of healthy eating will boost our energy levels, sharpen our memory and stabilize our moods. Always have breakfast no matter what, it is the fuel we need to get us moving and keep us energized as we go though our day. We must learn to listen to our bodies and understand when we are really hungry, not looking for comfort. We must take time to chew our food properly and enjoy the taste, instead of shoveling without tasting until we burst.
Giving up alcohol and red meat is a must if we are to master the art of living because both these things have been proven to kill us if we over indulge and anything that has the potential to kill us, must be monitored or stopped, especially if we have addictive tendencies.
Laughter is the best medicine and a key component to a happy life and research shows that people who use humour to fight stress, also feel less lonely and more positive about themselves. Sometimes in life we have to make a conscious effort to laugh and if we are facing difficult times, like work stress, lack of money, illness, relationship problems, we have to learn how to bring laughter back into our lives. We do this by watching funny movies, reading funny books, being around positive happy people who have fun and enjoy life in the moment.
The main art of living is having a purpose, something you must have to ever be happy.
"Our prime purpose in this life is to help others and if we cannot help them, don’t hurt them." Dalai Lama.
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