Multiply Your Minute
Birth of Clarity #42
Welcome to the Birth of Clarity newsletter on Substack.
Happiness
The beauty of living in a country that has sunshine nearly all year round is that you can pretty much live outdoors if you want. And that’s what I try to do with my son.
Aside from days when it’s too hot to leave the cooling comfort of the air conditioning and the odd pesky mosquito, it’s an ideal environment to raise a child. And nights like the other night confirm that there’s nothing better than the nurturing nourishment of nature and fatherhood.
Set to the backdrop of the sunset hitting the beach, my son and I enjoyed a live bongo session as people danced the night away! Bonding with my son as laughter filled the air and the cool breeze caressed our skin was amazing.
It made me happy to be alive.
But I haven’t always felt this way.
Find your minute
I’ve been low. I’ve been at rock bottom. I’ve felt unhappy to be alive. I’ve stood on the edge - literally and metaphorically - wanting to end it all. I’ve battled my demons. But even in the darkness, light emerged, even if it was just for a minute.
It didn't occur to me at the time but looking back now those minutes saved me. They were glimpses of hope amongst the despair. Even in the darkest times of my life, there has always been something I could focus on to bring me a little joy.
During the early years of my son’s life when I was trying to quit drinking, a smile from my boy would help me in that minute. A joke with a friend. A pang of nostalgia. A song. There was always something about this human experience that made me smile and allowed me to escape my depressive thoughts for a minute. There was always a person, a place, a thing that could make me happy for a moment.
But a minute isn't much in the grand scheme of things especially when it might feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. So, if you're feeling down and depressed, what can you do to stretch that minute?
Multiply it
That minute can be the difference between spiralling out of control and managing/elevating your mood. I've been there. I can still go there. One moment your life feels so bleak, the next it feels so full. It's about making the most of that moment and using it to your advantage.
When you experience it, open your heart and let the angels do the rest. Let them shoot happiness into your veins and spread love into your soul. Let them commit these moments of brightness to your brain. So when darkness descends and life loses its light, the memory of that minute, that moment, will eventually overflow, and soon that minute will become an hour, that hour will become a day, and so on.
The longer you keep cementing these minutes, hours, days, weeks and months to memory and work out what images, thoughts, actions and/or people, places and things work best to help you, the easier it will be to escape the darkness when it tries to devour you.
The more time you spend in the light, the longer you can hold off darkness.
The longer you spend out of darkness, the less chance there is of it returning.
Healthy habits
As I said at the beginning, the night I spent with my son on the beach made me happy to be alive. And it's committing to nature, getting sober and embracing my fatherhood journey that has improved my mental health.
I know I have a long way to go - progress not perfection - but making positive choices and building healthy habits has also helped me escape the darkness for longer.
Alongside stacking up those minutes of happiness when you find them and making them work to advantage, why not adopt some of these healthy habits and add them into your daily routine:
Swim in the sea
Exercise regularly
Practice gratitude
Ditch pornography
Limit/cut out alcohol
Drink plenty of water
Reconnect with nature
Get proper rest & sleep
Reduce your sugar intake
Eliminate toxic relationships
Cut down on your phone use
Learning to multiply your minute coupled with a positive change in habits will help you find the light of life and bask in its glory for longer.
Being lost in the darkness of depression can be brutal but it’s something I’ve dramatically reduced thanks to making the above changes to my life.
You can do this too!
I hope this article helps :)
Thank you for reading: “Multiply Your Minute.”
Here are some helpful articles related to today’s post:
If anything in this article resonated with you and you’d like to ask a question or comment, please get in touch:
Check out the last post: “Writing Legacy.”
Take care,
Roscoe
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