Fragments of a Life that Breathes Poetry
On an ordinary morning, I hear small cracks — they come from a new leaf unfolding into the world. I’m reading a book about inner change, that place in-between: the certainties of who you once were and the emptiness of who you are becoming, without yet knowing who you will be in your most authentic form. All of this resonates with me as I go through changes of my own, letting go of old certainties, trying to quiet anxiety, and searching for joy in the everyday.
Life is beautiful. Nature is enchanting. To witness a leaf opening is like feeling the touch of God on your skin. Perhaps making the most of time is not about doing as much as possible, but about contemplating — contemplating life as it unfolds around you, watching time happen and transform everything in its path. Maybe that is the true magic of life: a tooth coming in and another falling out, first steps, the first day of school, a new plant unfurling, the expression lines etched by the free smile of someone we love. The act of looking at ourselves in the mirror and seeing our own vulnerability. Gazing into our eyes in the bathroom mirror and recognizing emotions behind them. The shiver of intuition that says “yes” or “no” to a situation. The smell of coffee in the morning, the tears of longing, the joy of reunion.
Life is simple, though its worth is immeasurable. Time is beautiful, but it knocks at everyone’s door.
A beam of light dances across the chairs in my kitchen, and I can only think: how good it is to be alive. What a privilege to allow myself to be moved by the simplicity of life. How delightful it is to find joy in what surrounds us. Whether we have little or much, the everyday invites us to draw the best from it and to learn the true meaning of savoring. To savor not by filling every gap with tasks, not by believing that productivity is the measure of living, but by being present, by contemplating what is here, now.
Advice from an anxious soul learning to ease the weight of this condition: pause, observe, and live what is before you. Allow yourself to feel your emotions instead of silencing them. Listen to your body, listen to your intuition — it is a powerful compass we always carry within. Take a deep breath, go for a walk, do the things that make you happy. Sing loudly, paint, draw, run, talk, read. Enrich your mind with good memories. Stay close to those who lift you up. Work on your mind, for it is often our greatest limiter. Love — yourself, others. Have a purpose. Spend your time on what warms your heart.
Because time is not for sale. It is, by far, our greatest treasure. No amount of money can bring it back — not the person, not the vitality, not the contemplation of the present.
Use it wisely.
Larissa Salvi 