I love potato chips, but I don’t eat them because they’re not exactly healthy.
For New Year’s, I decided to treat myself and... barely managed half a bag. It turned out, in my imagination, they were much more desired and delicious than in reality.
I wondered why that was. Then I remembered a family ritual.
In the evenings, my wife, daughter, and I would cozy up on the couch, watch a fun show, and crunch our hearts out on crisps. I wouldn't buy them more than once a week to avoid gaining weight.
Chips became entwined with a sense of peace, love, and harmony.
My wife and daughter have lived in England for the past few years while I’ve been in Ukraine. Paradoxically, this experience has brought us closer together, as if invisible threads have compensated for the distance, strengthening what miles tried to tear apart.
But the warm memories haven’t gone anywhere. It was never really about the chips; it was about the longing to reclaim my lost paradise. Back then, I took it all for granted and didn’t fully appreciate what I had.
So I probably don’t appreciate what I have right now.
It’s so easy to notice the flaws in the present. It is everywhere—in the air, in your hands, and beneath your feet. It crumbles, flows, and transforms right before our eyes.
The contrast is striking between what is and what could be.
But what if, here and now, your world suddenly became perfect? Life would stop because the longing, 'What for?' would disappear.
That’s why you need an ideal—to strive for but never reach.
Moreover, a sense of harmony isn’t about chasing perfection. In that imperfect past, life felt wonderful. I knew it with my body and soul, but my mind refused to accept it. The same is true now.
I hope reflections like these will help me change that. In essence, it’s a personal rediscovery of ancient wisdom:
“For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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