The art of calm – Safal Niveshak

I have started this new weekly newsletter – The Good Life Almanac – sharing everything I read and think about to live well. This is a new attempt, but I hope to go as far. In the age of information overload, I have found it very helpful to take the time to stop and reflect on meaningful ideas about life. This newsletter is my way of sharing this journey with you.

Each week, I will curate a selection of thought-provoking ideas, inspiring quotes, and practical wisdom that I have encountered in my reading and personal reflections. My goal is to create a space for us to explore together what it means to live with purpose, kindness, and fulfillment. I look forward to your kind support.

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What I read

Don’t do something like that. Stay seated.

It’s 5am as I write this, there is absolute silence all around, and I am reading Pico Iyer on the art of calm in his beautiful book of the same name. Pico writes –

In the age of speed, nothing is more invigorating than slowing down. In the age of distraction, nothing is more pleasurable than paying attention. And in the age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.

You can go on vacation… and you’ll have a great time, I’m sure. But if you want to come back feeling new, alive, hopeful, and in love with the world, I think the place to go might be Nowhere.

…It is only by removing myself from the clutter and distractions that I can begin to hear something beyond earshot and remember that listening is far more invigorating than expressing all the thoughts and prejudices that keep me company twenty-four hours a day anyway.

And it is only by going nowhere, by sitting quietly or letting my mind relax, that I discover that the thoughts that come to me without my invitation are far fresher and more imaginative than those I consciously seek out.

Pico’s words hit the mark, don’t they?

We live a constantly connected existence, and between racing to the next notification or rushing to the next meeting, the idea of ​​simply… stopping… seems almost revolutionary.

But think about it: When was the last time you sat down and let your mind wander? No phone, no TV, no distractions. Just you and your thoughts.

I know it’s scary at first. After all, our brains are so used to receiving information all the time that the silence can seem deafening.

But it’s in this silence that we can process our experiences, find our best ideas, and reconnect with what really matters to us. It’s like emptying out all the junk that’s accumulated in our mental attics. And it’s not just about being more productive or creative. It’s about rediscovering a sense of wonder.

When we’re always in a hurry, we miss the little miracles that surround us: sunlight streaming through curtains, the smell of rain on the sidewalk, a child’s laughter, the simple joy of a deep breath. Ah!

But as Pico writes, perhaps the key to navigating our chaotic world is not to go faster or do more, but to slow down, to create moments of stillness, and to remember how to simply be.

Yes, just be. Difficult. But invigorating.

Try it.

By the way, listen to Pico’s TED talk on the art of stillnessand his interview with William Green.

Also read The Art of Stillness.

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You are rich, but are you healthy?

Cornelius Vanderbilt, then the richest man in the world, died on January 4, 1887. His fortune, largely built through his railroad businesses, was estimated at $105 million at the end of his life.

When he died, Vanderbilt left $95 million to his eldest son, William, a sum that would have exceeded the entire assets of the U.S. Treasury at the time. And if that wasn’t enough, William doubled that inheritance to nearly $200 million within a decade.

However, despite his immense wealth, William found no solace in money. According to Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, he once told his friend about his neighbor –

He is not worth a hundredth part of what I am worth, but he enjoys more pleasures than I do. His house is as comfortable as mine, though it does not cost so much; his staff is about as good as mine; his opera box is next to mine; his health is better than mine, and he will probably outlive me. And he can trust his friends.

William also believed that his health had been impaired by the burden of managing his father’s empire. He told his doctors:

I feel pretty good, but I can’t rely on myself.

Then he said to his nephew:

What’s the point, Sam, in having all that money if you can’t enjoy it? My wealth doesn’t comfort me if I don’t have good health behind it.

All the money in the world is useless if you don’t have the time or health to enjoy it. Think about it.

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How to overcome your anxieties and regrets

Eckhart Tolle has the answer in his brilliant book The Power of Now –

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A measure of true success in life

In his book Education of a Value Investor, Guy Spier quotes Warren Buffett as saying this to students…

When you reach my age, you will truly measure your success in life by the number of people you love and who truly love you. I know people who have a lot of money, who throw thank-you dinners and name hospitals after themselves. But the truth is, no one in the world likes them. If you reach my age and no one thinks highly of you, no matter how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster. It is the ultimate test of how you have lived your life.

He keeps on –

The problem with love is that you can’t buy it. You can buy sex, you can buy fancy dinners, you can buy brochures about how great you are. But the only way to get love is to be nice. That’s very annoying when you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you can write a check and say, “I’m going to buy a million dollars worth of love.” But it doesn’t work that way. The more love you give, the more you get.” Of all the lessons Warren taught me, this may be the most important.

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What I think

Our actions impact countless lives, and we can’t always imagine them. By striving to be kind and compassionate in our daily interactions, we can create positive change that reaches far beyond ourselves.

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True wealth lies not in material possessions, but in rewarding experiences, deep relationships, and personal growth. Investing time and energy in these areas often provides the deepest and most lasting satisfaction.

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By embracing discomfort and challenges, you expand your abilities and understanding. By stepping outside your comfort zone, you often discover untapped potential and new perspectives that can enrich your life.

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Book Recommendation

Man’s quest for meaning is one of the most moving books I have ever read. The book is Viktor Frankl’s chronicle of his experiences as an inmate in a German Nazi concentration camp during World War II. In the book, Frankl describes his psychotherapeutic method, which involves identifying a goal in life that one should feel positive about, and then immersively imagining that outcome.

The central theme of Frankl’s book is “survival.” Although he witnessed and experienced horror, the book focuses less on the details of his own experience than on how his time under the Nazi regime showed him the human capacity to survive and endure against all odds.

As Frankl wrote, he saw the lowest parts of humanity in the camps. He saw fellow prisoners promoted to camp guards turn on their fellow prisoners. He saw them beat their lifeless and malnourished campmates. He saw sadistic guards treat them as if they were less than animals. But he also saw individuals rise above it all as saints.

The part of the book that struck me the most is the following:

We who lived in the concentration camps remember the men who went through the barracks to comfort the others and give them their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they are proof enough that Everything can be taken away from a man, except one thing: the last of human freedoms: the freedom to choose one’s attitude in any situation, the freedom to choose one’s path.

I highly recommend Man’s Search for Meaning.

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Quotes I’m Thinking About

Wisdom is knowing that I am nothing, love is knowing that I am everything, and in between my life evolves.

– Nisargadatta Maharaj

Don’t go where the path might lead you, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just as all the water will flow out of a barrel if there is even a small hole in it, so all the joy of love will flow out of your soul if there is enmity in your soul toward even one person.

– Leo Tostoy

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That’s all for me for today.

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Thank you for your time and attention.

~ Vishal