Brief Life, Precious Mind...

It's day 167 of documenting 2025.

It's back to normal, my friend 🙂
For teachers and students, I mean.
And I'm at work today.

But I learned some things over the past week that I want to share with you.

First thing is, you can't always do it alone.
I admitted to my mentor yesterday that I'm independent to a fault.
I find it hard to reach out for help or clarification on something.
It usually takes an initial circumstance to push me....most times a realization that things will get worse if I don't.

I'm learning to speak out.
To reach out and ask for assistance when I need it.
And I know that there are certain things you have to do by yourself...but if there's no one to guide you on what to do, how will you even know if you're doing it right?
Ponder that.

Second thing is, there are some times when you don't need to understand why you have to take a certain action.
You just gotta do it.
And the more you think about it, the less you're willing to take action.
So just do it.
(Do it Duon!! You hear me?)

Third thing is....
Is there a third thing? 🤔
Not really...
If there's something else I remember, I will relay after Highlights and Meditations.

365 Days With Self-discipline
📌 On Routines Overcoming A Bad Mood

"A solid routine fosters a well-worn groove for one’s mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods."
Quote by Mason Currey

"I’m a big proponent of daily routines, not only because they ensure that you steadily advance toward your goal, but also because they reduce the likelihood of negative moods ruining your progress."

"Let’s not fool ourselves — we’re humans, and sometimes we feel bad. If you don’t have a daily routine and wake up in a bad mood, it’s almost certain that you won’t care much about your current resolutions and forego them for the rest of the day.
Handling your negative mood will be more important than any other objectives you might have had."

"However, if you’ve established a daily routine and it’s now instilled in your mind, the risk that you won’t perform it is much lower.
Why is that so? Because the beautiful thing about a daily routine is that once it’s automatic, you feel bad when you don’t do it.

This means that if you’re in a bad mood, not performing your routine will make you feel even worse, so the best choice is to stick to your routine in spite of your bad mood."

"When setting important long-term goals, also create daily routines that will steadily move you toward achieving them.
Once established, they will be some of your biggest allies."

That's the whole note, not just picked out quotes. I had to share the whole thing.
My comment on this: Two words.
Establish routines.
(Ya hear that, Duon? 🧏)
Okay....I admit!
I don't have a strong routine yet, but I will get back into it.

Up next....Meditations

Meditations
📌 From Book 2

I read these two lessons once but didn't understand it.
So, I got a little help from AI.
I'll share what Marcus said first, then ChatGPT 's interpretation of it.

1. Not just that every day more of our life is used up and less and less of it is left, but this too: if we live longer, can we be sure our mind will still be up to understanding the world—to the contemplation that aims at divine and human knowledge?

If our mind starts to wander, we’ll still go on breathing, go on eating, imagining things, feeling urges and so on. But getting the most out of ourselves, calculating where our duty lies, analyzing what we
hear and see, deciding whether it’s time to call it quits—all the things you need a healthy mind for . . . all those are gone.

So we need to hurry.
Not just because we move daily closer to death but also because our understanding—our grasp of the world—may be gone before we get there.

2. We should remember that even Nature’s inadvertence has its own charm, its own attractiveness.
The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why.

Or how ripe figs begin to burst.
And olives on the point of falling: the shadow of decay gives them a peculiar beauty.
Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The furrowed brow of the lion. Flecks of foam on the boar’s mouth.

And other things. If you look at them in isolation there’s nothing beautiful about them, and yet by supplementing nature they enrich it and draw us in.
And anyone with a feeling for nature—a deeper sensitivity—will find it all gives pleasure.

Even what seems inadvertent. He’ll find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures. He’ll look calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at the loveliness of children.
And other things like that will call out to him constantly—things unnoticed by others. Things seen only by those at home with Nature and its works.

Hmm...quite deep 🤔 
I wanted to know the main theme of these two lessons...and here's what AI had to say:

Marcus Aurelius, in this excerpt, offers two profound meditations on time, the mind, and beauty.
Let’s break it down into the two core ideas:

1. The urgency of time and the fragility of the mind:

He reminds us that life is constantly slipping away—not just because we’re moving toward death, but because our "mental clarity" and capacity to reason may fade even before life ends.

The real tragedy, he says, isn’t just dying, but "losing the ability to understand, to reflect, to live with awareness".
That’s why we must act with urgency—not in fear, but with purpose—while we are still mentally present. He's urging us not to waste time, because we can’t guarantee we’ll always have our full selves available to make meaning of life.

2. The subtle, imperfect beauty of nature (and life):

Marcus then shifts to the idea that beauty isn’t only found in perfection. Nature, even in its so-called flaws or decay—the crack in bread, the aging body, the foam on an animal’s mouth—possesses a quiet, raw beauty.

He suggests that those who truly understand and appreciate life can see beauty in "everything", even what others overlook or consider unattractive. It's a call to develop deeper perception, to be "attuned" to the grace in natural, unpolished reality.

Together, both parts remind us:
"life is brief, the mind is precious, and beauty is everywhere—if only we have the eyes and heart to see it."

I understand now 😌
There's beauty in courage...
There's even beauty in pain.
But sometimes, we don't see it.

I hope you can see the bright side of things, my friend
Even when they seem bleak.
I wish you a wonderful week ahead...with lots of reasons to smile and be grateful 💜

That's all for today's post.
I thank you for reading 🎀
Last week, I had a hard time making out time to write the posts.
You have a busy life...but you made out time to read this one.
Thanks again, my friend ☺️
Another day added to the streak!

You can also check out:
The main site, to catch up on former posts.
The reader survey, to share your thoughts and suggestions
I'll see you there 😉

I'm Duon Ada, as you know...
I'm documenting 2025,
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Ciao 💕