Trường Đại học Văn hoá

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Spend at least 10 minutes a day just to let yourself “breathe”…
Sounds strange, right? We’re alive, so aren’t we always breathing? But I believe it’s not that hard to understand—it’s just that, in some way, we’ve been deliberately ignoring it.

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Today I joined a “Camp Lumina” At the end of the program, writer Nguyen Chi Hieu shared in a session called “Philosophical Roundtable: Horizons of the Self.” Despite its academic title, it was really a space for us to explore our own sense of self—starting from the simplest, everyday things. Before we wrapped up, the professor gave us a gentle reminder: once in a while, regularly if possible, or even better every single day, set aside some time for yourself. Time to rest, to do what you truly want, no matter how simple. And this time, let it be for you, not because of any external expectations.

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Then it struck me, I might already be “breathing” that way every day, without scheduling it. It doesn’t always have to mean “working” for myself, “studying hard” for myself, or “forcing down food that’s healthy but tastes awful” for myself. Sometimes it’s just sleeping, staring at the mirror, or even zoning out, doing nothing at all… As long as I set aside the thoughts of future, parents, kids, matcha lattes, Sơn Tùng M-TP, and simply let myself feel at ease, unburdened...that alone is enough.

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The professor also suggested we jot down these little moments: what we did today, what we felt, what we thought when we chose to live “for ourselves.” Collect them into a little “bundle,” and one day, when we read them back, we’ll realize they’re worth much more than those 10 minutes.

Being encouraged to live more for ourselves doesn’t mean abandoning the ideas of working hard or striving. Those things are inevitable, we still need that foundation to make “relaxation” possible. Don’t you think?

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So I told myself: “I need to work even harder, so that someday, instead of just 10 minutes, I’ll have 24 hours, then a whole week, and eventually much more time living ‘for myself’ without any burdens at all.

 

Thank you, Lumina, for giving us such wonderful experiences. I’m truly looking forward to the camps in the years to come.”