"today a lady came to me and told me that she quit work because she thought it was working her to death. she said she would rather devote herself to learning english, because she thought it would make her happy. so every morning before breakfast, she'd review english workbooks. after two weeks, she became frustrated and gave up. she asked me, "how do you do it? i feel like there are always a million things i need to do, i don't even have time to sit and concentrate." i didn't really know what to tell her. she doesn't have to work and she doesn't have a family to look after. i don't know what she considers busy, but i know the list of things on my to do list are never ending. it sounds like a stupid answer, but i told her, "you just do it". you sit there and force yourself to read. maybe at first, it'll only be for five minutes. then eventually, five becomes ten, and ten becomes an hour. it gets easier the more you get used to it."
then she laughs because she doesn't understand how difficult it is for some people to "just do it". i laughed too because every time i talk to friends about how i don't know how to be alone, they're probably thinking the same thing my mom's thinking. it's simple. you just do it. you don't have to be with someone at every waking moment of life. you don't need to provide your life's play by play for anyone. you don't need someone to be your designated emotional companion. you just do it, you live, and you don't think about what life will bring you next. let it happen on it's own.
