Inertia - Nº129
Romanticising life
Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
— Voltaire
Soft classical music. Homemade meals. Coastal sunrises. Runners high. Deep breathing. Exploring green spaces. Being around people who just get you. How at peace you can feel when you think less about the temporary negatives—and look around at where you are now.
The feeling of nostalgia always gets me the most. It’s woven in music scores, close friends I’ve had for now longer than I can remember, and the passions I’ve stuck with for decades. No relationship will be perfect, but it is the imperfections that keep us in the moment, enjoying whatever’s in front of us.
Time and understanding share a unique relationship. The longer we spend time with someone or something, the more naturally we can understand them. It’s part of a loosely defined practice of self-improvement which teaches us how to feel calm during conflict, security during stress, and comfort in the reality that is not quite what we want yet.
Happiness is the one thing we all want that can always seem out of our grasp. But while many things in life provide joy, I’ve come to find it’s the simple, non-repetitive acts that make joy last. Romanticising your life means finding the special feeling in the seemingly insignificant pleasures. Spending a day at the beach, watching films all day with someone you care about, or finally picking up that book that could change your perspective on something important.
If you feel like you are struggling to unfold your plans, goals, or routines by this point in the year, it is likely you have allowed things to become too mundane. You may feel a constant need to “catch-up”, or keep yourself busy. And in doing so, you’ve stopped making things nice—or making time for nice things. You’ve stopped putting the life in life. You no longer make time for creating art.
If you’ve read my work for a while, you’ll know I’m of the mentality that life is both short and long. Time is precious and important to savour, but realistically, and barring disaster, we are all in it for a very, very long time. But even if that’s the case, it’s easy to get lost in the midst of everything you’re doing. So many people wait eagerly for the next weekend, the next event, or restarting everything next year. With that, time can fly.
I’ve shifted my perspective away from that thanks to finding ways to appreciate even the slow days. How you frame it matters as much how you lead your day. And it’s more important than ever to spark joy within even the smallest pleasures. Nature helps, as does sticking with people that can make you laugh at any time.
The foundation of connection and appreciation is to see yourself and your environment as each other are, not as what you think you should be seeing. Romanticisation is not about fantasies, it’s about that raw, unpolished layer of life you learn to have a genuine admiration for. To me, there’s no better way to enjoy life.