Wow. Just like that, another month is gone. We are getting closer and closer to the end of 2025 and the beginning of a new cycle. I chose to take these last few months of the year to take some ideas off the paper and establish some goals to be achieved before the year ends. Without rushing, without exceeding any personal limits, just a few memories that I would like to create before the year is over. So I also decided to not only create memories but to document them monthly here in the blog. It’s a pleasure for me to record and share some of the most special moments and the reflections they brought to me.
\To be completely honest, September flew by in a mix of beautiful moments alternated by moments of anxiety. As I’ve shared before, I’ve been trying to adopt slow living into my daily life, but the true art of slow living isn’t about slowing down time but about paying attention as it passes. And that demands a bit of work. So, let’s take a deep breath and revisit the pages of September.
Anna Karenina, Slow Living, and the Beauty of Appreciation
I’ve been reading Anna Karenina and it’s such an interesting piece. I am not going to do a review of it—at least not for now—since I didn’t finish it yet. But I wanted to share a bit of the feelings this book brings me. My fertile imagination transports me, with every page, to an era I didn’t live in. I can imagine the clothes, the conversations, the polished tone of voice of each character. Interestingly, for some reason, the character I’ve related to the most is Levin. I’m excited to know which path he will take in the book. In one chapter, Stepan Arkadyevitch claims Levin is lucky because he simply has everything he likes, to what he replies:
Perhaps because I rejoice in what I have, and don’t fret for what I haven’t.
Naturally, we believe this statement just in part since the poor man is actually heartbroken from love because of a young lady he doesn’t have. Still, I like how he truly appreciates the life he leads in the countryside and refrains from desiring what he does not possess. There is so much we can take from this quote and apply to our lives. I have been trying to practice gratitude and appreciate the things that are within my reach, the achievements that have already come to me. It’s so important not to get lost in the desire to possess things that have not yet come to us, and it’s dangerous to forget to be grateful for everything we have already achieved.
The Desks and a Lesson in Patience
I also wanted to share an interesting thing that happened to me this past month. At the beginning of the month, my husband and me went to a street market and bought a small bouquet of yellow flowers to put on the kitchen table. I was absolutely in love with the different reddish-yellow tones of their petals, you know? But the most incredible thing this month was, without a doubt, the arrival of our new desks. And that’s where the curious part comes in.
Back in August, my heart was heavy after finding two desks, identical as twins, hidden one on top of the other in a dusty corner of an antique shop. I really fell in love instantly. We had been looking for a pair of desks for some time because my husband hadn’t had an ideal work table since he started working from home. And there they were: the perfect desks, just the way I dreamed. But when I went to talk to the seller, I found out that one of them was already sold. Talk about a broken heart! How could I bring home just one? I felt they were destined to be together. The two pieces, probably manufactured in the 1960s, had already been through so many decades together.
Well, I went home and I swear I couldn’t get it out of my head for weeks. For me, I wouldn’t find desks like those anywhere else, especially since I feel that furniture nowadays is built to be ephemeral. And I really like things that last, furnitures that can follow me through different phases of my life and collect stories and memories in themselves. And look what happened! A small miracle occurred.
On the day I bought the yellow flowers, I decided to go back to the antique shop that was near the flower stand in the market. And guess what! The lady who had claimed one of the desks had cancelled her order. The two were available again. I could barely believe it since my mind had really spent weeks dwelling on that loss. Naturally, I brought both of them home, and our small office will be set up gradually, with these being the first acquisitions that will allow this little corner to take shape over time.
This saga felt like a lesson: patience, trust, and the gentle reminder that what is meant for us will never be lost. It will come in its right time. And in that moment my heart whispered: God is Great.
The Art of “Just Living”
As I’ve already shared, I’ve been practicing the idea of slow living in my daily routine, and so I’ve been trying to reserve weekends for creating memories with my family. No more using Saturdays to study or Sunday to get ahead on work. Of course, sometimes deadlines are tight, and I have to catch up on chores or tasks-but still, I try to dedicate part of my weekend solely to personal life. In this spirit, during one of the weekends in September, we had a picnic in a city park, and it was so special.
One of these days I read somewhere that “what we call slow living today, our grandparents just called living.” That line really stuck with me, you know? It is a good reminder to be actually present in all moments and to live them fully, just like people used to do before this era of technology and social media. A simple afternoon in a park can be all you need to recharge for the following week. A toast to live and be present in every moment.
And just like that, I turn the page to October. My central intention will be Creativity and Serenity. I want to carry the calm I found in that beautiful yellow flowers and the wisdom I gained from patiently waiting for the perfect desks, into the next 30 days.
How was your September? What was your biggest lesson or your golden moment? Share it in the comments below!
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