By Kimine Mayuzumi “How are you?” “How are you doing?” When someone asks you these questions, what do you usually say? And when you ask someone else, do you really pause to notice what they say — or how they express how they are? Sometimes, “How are you?” is simply another way of saying hello. Someone asks you in the hallway, keeps walking, and neither of you expects a real answer. The question becomes a…
By Kimine Mayuzumi There is nothing passive about stopping, and when you decide to go, it’s a different kind of going because you stopped. — Jon Kabat-Zinn A few weeks ago, I led a session called Exhale – Reset through Reflection and Practice for a group of academics transitioning out of their academic year. I was reminded again how exhausting this season can be for many academics — trying to wrap things up while…
By Kimine Mayuzumi Ten years ago, I wrote a short post called “5 Ways to Slow Down NOW.” At the time, I didn’t know whether anyone would read it. I simply felt pulled to explore gentler ways of living and working — especially in environments organized around speed, output, and performance. I kept writing, not because I had a grand vision for what Being Lazy and Slowing Down (BLSD) would become, but because each piece…
By Kimine Mayuzumi At Being Lazy and Slowing Down, we often talk about creating space – for rest, for reflection, for remembering what matters. But what happens when the world feels anything but spacious? When news headlines feel like they’re closing in, and being informed feels necessary but overwhelming? This post grew out of a question someone asked during a recent webinar that I was delivering. It stopped me in my tracks… and felt important…
By Kimine Mayuzumi Ichigo Ichie (一期一会), a Japanese proverb, is a concept that I often share with my readers and audience. Translated as “one encounter, one lifetime,” it encapsulates the idea that each meeting is unique and exists in its own space and time — an irreplaceable moment. Embedded in the Japanese tea ceremony, this concept encourages us to treat the unique quality of each experience as a precious treasure. There was a moment last…
