Life is Easy When Your Only Task is "Enjoy the Day"
A simple expat truth: good weather, good people, and time to just be.
I remember living in an expat haven just a few hours’ travel from the US, when I used to spend mornings texting with a friend in the States. I had one of those phone plans that offered unlimited text and data across borders, so I could indulge in that modern addiction from where I was living at the time—in a town tucked away in the highlands.
Eventually we'd cover all the usual small talk. Weather, spouses, the day's agenda. Then we'd either dive into the specifics—what we were going to do, eat, or go see—or we'd bow out with a clever sign-off. That particular day, we opted for the latter.
But the final exchange stuck with me. My friend had asked what my plans were, and I answered with something that sounded like a joke—but wasn't.
I was going to enjoy the day.
And I meant it. I knew it with certainty. Sure, anything can happen—a blown fuse, a sudden storm—but barring a cosmic curveball, I was going to enjoy it.
The sun was shining, as it usually did in that part of the world. The air was warm and clear, which was the norm.
I had plenty of things to do, but no particular order in which to do them, and no real deadlines attached.
There were the essentials—Suzan and I would get our walk in, eat a few meals, maybe find a good bottle of wine for the evening.
And then there were the nice-to-do's. Things like brushing up on a few songs for open stage night at the restaurant down the road. Maybe trying that curry recipe—if I found the ingredients. Arturo, my shoeshine guy, was usually on the plaza. I'd probably see him, too.
It struck me then—what a gift that was. Living there, with weather like that and a low cost of living, meant that the most pressing thing I had to do each day… was enjoy it. The few things I "had" to do were things I would've done anyway, simply because I liked doing them.
Back in the States, my friend's days were defined by work, responsibilities, and checking off the ever-growing to-do list. That used to be me, too.
But where I was, I met people every day who had stepped off that treadmill. Not all were retired, but all had chosen a different kind of life. One where they no longer were their jobs. They were just themselves.
And with that choice came space—space to breathe, to slow down, to live in the moment. Their most important job became simply to enjoy the day.
That pace of life? It drove some folks a little stir-crazy at first. After decades of "productive" living, slowing down felt wrong. But they always found their groove. Some got involved in the community—volunteering, teaching, organizing. They saw a need, had the skills, and stepped in.
I loved that.
I also loved that the place I was living in made it possible to stop defining yourself by what you do. No one said "I'm a pilot" or "I'm a nurse" or "I'm a writer." Not really.
They said, "I'm going to enjoy the day."
— Dan Prescher, IL Senior Editor
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