Youheum Son - Heal Your Living: The Joy of Mindfulness, Sustainability, Minimalism, and Wellness

2236B Sixth Street

Berkeley, California 94710

www.parallax.org

Parallax Press is the publishing division of Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc.

Copyright 2022 by Youheum Son

All rights reserved

Cover design by and ebook design adapted from print design by Heesang Lee

All photographs copyright 2022 Youheum Son

Ebook ISBN9781952692161

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Son, Youheum, author.

Title: Heal your living : the joy of mindfulness, sustainability, minimalism, and wellness / Youheum Son.

Description: Berkeley, California : Parallax Press, 2022

Identifiers: LCCN 2021061301 (print) | LCCN 2021061302 (ebook) | ISBN 9781952692154 (paperback) | ISBN 9781952692161 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Mindfulness (Psychology) | Well-being. | Mental health.

Classification: LCC BF637.M56 S73 2022 (print) | LCC BF637.M56 (ebook) | DDC 158.1/3dc23/eng/20211220

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021061301

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021061302

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MESSAGE OF GRATITUDE

I bow in and send my lotus prayer to fellow practitioners and friends within our community. It is truly a gift to arrive here as a guide and student standing side by side.

I also send deep gratitude to my teachers for all their wisdom and generous offerings. It is a blessing to be a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and to continuously learn valuable insights from Neville Goddard and Helen Schucman.

May I reach those in need by sharing what I have learned and keep incorporating within my daily practice. I wish to give back by being of benefit to those who have generously given. I continue with my own life as my message, each and every step, each and every breath.

For a total of seven years I lived in the hectic and fast-paced environment of New York City, hoping for a glamorous life full of luxuries. I idolized the abundance of jobs, the potential for success, and the overall prosperity. City life drew me in with all the skyscrapers, well-dressed attractive people, gourmet food, and the gathering of intellectuals and celebrities. I hoped that I could also obtain the status and wealth that I saw around me. Living in the city was the promise of having more, doing more, and being more. I thought it was a pathway to obtaining a higher state of satisfaction and contentment, and an overall boost in self-worth, all through material gain.

In the beginning, I imagined myself in New York juggling everything with perfection, both professionally and in my personal life, while enjoying the privileges of abundance and overflowing resources. I believed that Id be living the dream life like all the other people I saw. But it turned out that the dream life I observed was only on the surface. Once I realized that reality was vastly different from what I imagined, I understood the real sacrifices I had to make to reach the position I ultimately desired. Everything came with hard work and the readiness to sacrifice precious energy for success.

For the first couple of years my city life was composed of stress-filled commutes, work, school, and personal responsibilities to fulfill. I was on a complete adrenaline rush in a frantic lifestyle. Life for me was about living at a hurried pace and getting as much done as possible. I had no proper rest in between, no time to plan a wholesome meal, hydrate properly, care for my health, and check in with myself on how I felt physically and emotionally. As more time passed, I had fewer opportunities to rest within a highly demanding schedule.

I was blindly running, held captive by my programming of striving and achieving at whatever cost. The only time I felt relief from pressure was when I indulged in consumption as a means of escape and distraction. One of my favorite coping mechanisms was dependence on processed food. I regularly stuffed myself unnecessarily, binging on sugary pastries, including doughnuts, cupcakes, sweet beverages, and loads of caffeine. My other addictions were media consumption, excessive visual entertainment, and impulsive shopping for clothes, beauty products, and fashion goods.

Most damaging of all was my insatiable craving for shopping. I spent my days glued to the computer, browsing online commerce sites, and going on daily shopping sprees. As time passed, I ended up possessing more than forty pairs of shoes and an unmanageable amount of clothes that were dominating my living space. Every inch of space and storage was covered with clothes and fashion goods. I had mountains of unworn and completely new purchases scattered around, slowly suffocating me and depriving me of any breathing room. I shopped until I was financially broke, unable to pay for a night out with friends.

I couldnt enjoy life or even a peaceful weekend with all the clutter and mess around and within me. I filled my life to the point of wasting hours doing the laundry all day long, spending the whole afternoon attempting to organize some parts of my closet, and spending three hours picking outfits for the week. It was always a hassle to look for what I needed, and I felt more stressed and annoyed by the self-created mess and disorderly space. There was no room to cook, enjoy a long hot bath in peace, or lie down comfortably. Every corner I turned, there was an obstacle, an eyesore, and a contributor to further stress.

As my compulsive behavior worsened and more accumulation gathered, my life slowly deteriorated, heading toward a self-perpetuated downward spiral. Even the mental high and numbness from engaging in mindless activities wore off quickly and eventually led to me feeling more drained. The decisions I had made so far and the direction I was leading myself were taking a significant toll on the state of my mind, body, and soul. All those years of toxic patterns and unconscious acts of self-sabotage led to complete burnout. I was fatigued, dealing with adrenal problems, sleep-deprived, and suffering with terrible migraines. I could no longer avoid the stress-triggered anxiety attacks and extreme tension of being overwhelmed all the time.

In the end, the signs were there for me to realize that the things filling my life were not sufficient sources of nourishment. I was depleted of the proper nutrients to maintain a healthy and energetic state capable of enjoying life. It had been a long time since I had felt rested and rejuvenated. My mind was always filled with worrisome thoughts about the future and the past. I was on a constant search for solutions to perceived threats and attachment to seek superficial success. What I needed most was a moment of pause to reset and undo my obsessive thoughts, habitual patterns of repressing my sensations and emotions, and the cycle of physical self-destruction. My body required proper rest, restoration, and time to heal from toxic influences. It was clear that I needed to transform my destructive lifestyle toward a self-sustainable path through healing.