Hajja Salesjana January-March 2020

20 H AJJA S ALESJANA Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all of the stress, responsibilities and challenges in your daily life? If I am honest with myself, the times I feel most anxious or stressed are usually caused by my lifelong tendency to overcomplicate things and an inclination towards “busyness”. I am grateful for the occasional insights I have into ways to address this problem and as I grow older, I recognize the wisdom of something my father often shared with me in my younger days: simplify your life . Everything about our modern culture involves complexity and unnecessary layers. I long for more opportunities to live in the moment and experience life in “real time” versus the frantic pace I often keep. I want my legacy to be more than “he accomplished more than most”! I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I would like to share the three-step approach I am working on to achieve greater simplicity, peace and a heightened sense of purpose in my life: 1. Have Clear Priorities 2. Practice Detachment 3. Serve Others 3Ways to Simplify Your Life: How to remove stress and finally feel at peace by Randy Hain Step One: Have Clear Priorities Ever since I experienced a profound conversion to Christ in 2005 and joined the Catholic Church, I have gone from a compartmentalized approach to life unsuccessfully attempting to balance work and family to a life where Christ is first, family is second and work is third on my list of priorities. Additionally, I work hard at keeping Christ at the center of everything I do and the result is a more authentic and integrated approach to life where I am the same person at all times. Photo: Zachary Tan from www.unsplash.com Photo: Kelly McClintock www.unsplash.com