Less is More
This is my first time writing more than one post in one day, but there is too much to talk about; I see more than I can write.
It’s only been a few days since I’ve been here, but each day has been fruitful. A little bit strange, considering I don’t really do much other than read, write, eat, and sleep. I haven’t picked up my violin in two weeks, and since my interview I haven’t done much coding either. In the current state I’m in, I think it’s very important to let my mind adapt to the new environment, and what’s better than doing… nothing?
We’ve all heard it, but nonetheless it’s pretty counterintuitive to think that less is more. Even just a few weeks ago, I would get incredibly anxious if I felt like I was wasting time. All I could think about is the things I could have been doing, and feared anything that would lower my productivity.
Funnily, things have taken a different turn. I’ve just been doing nothing. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been experiencing nothing. By freeing up my senses and mind, I am more attentive — more receptive.
I’m more mindful in the world around me. I’m aware of the way I speak, the way I hear, the way I see. I’m immersed.
I have experienced so much in the short time since arrival. This place is just so… different. Not just from Canada, or from the other places I’ve travelled to, but even compared to itself. The China 2 years ago is nothing like the China today. Some of it is really inexplicable… you have to come here to see it for yourself.
Even so, in the midst of the world’s rapid evolution, there still lies a seed of authenticity in the heart of the city. It is a feeling. From person to person, from city to city, China has very esoteric idiosyncrasies that can only be seen in certain parts of certain places. Of course, that’s true for almost everywhere, but you have to really open your eyes to see it.
“If you truly search for me, you will find me immediately.” — Kabir
There is a difference from going to a place and being in it. I guess that’s also what separates tourism from travellism. To really immerse yourself in any culture, you have to not only see the shell, but dig into the core. The good and the bad, the bright and the dark, the fast and the slow, the infinities within each space can be explored only by your own consciousness.
It’s not some kind of elitist distinction, tourism is just important as travellism, but many people are not aware of the latter.
Even in the small things: the toilets (or latrines, if you prefer), the small shops, the streetlights, the city scent, the cicadas — everything and anything can be so fascinating if you pay attention to it.
Sometimes simple daily life is one that is the most eventful. In seeing less, I have began to see more. In doing less, I have began to do more. By slowing down, it feels like my speed now has no bounds.
I am free to explore. Free to wonder. Free to take each moment as its own, and live each second as itself.
There are no worries, no anxieties. Each unit of life is independent. Can this last forever?
It doesn’t really matter. It is lasting right now.
