Speaker 1: Hey everyone, and I'm so excited because we're going to
Speaker 1: be adding a really special offering onto the back of
Speaker 1: my solo episodes on Fridays. It's my short daily series
Speaker 1: on Calm, The Daily Jay. And let me tell you,
Speaker 1: it's unlike anything else I'm doing. It's part storytelling, part mindfulness,
Speaker 1: with a wide range of unique, actionable insights, and it's
Speaker 1: also the only place you can meditate with me each
Speaker 1: and every day. I absolutely love all the wisdom was sharing,
Speaker 1: all the lives were changing, and whether you want to
Speaker 1: improve your mindset, your habits, or your relationships, whether you
Speaker 1: want to work on developing more focus, presence, or equanimity,
Speaker 1: building a Daily Jay routine just seven minutes every day
Speaker 1: can make a huge impact. So make sure to check
Speaker 1: out the session at the end of the podcast, and
Speaker 1: then subscribe to Calm for your daily dose of The
Speaker 1: Daily Jay. Go to Calm dot com forward slash ja
Speaker 1: for forty percent off your membership. Today from The New.
Speaker 2: York Times, this is modern love. I'm Anna Martin, love now.
Speaker 1: And stronger than anything, and I love you more than anything.
Speaker 2: I still love today. We have an essay about being
Speaker 2: yourself when you're dating, which is so hard to not
Speaker 2: show off, just to show up as you. The essay
Speaker 2: is written by relationship expert Jay Shetty, and this guy
Speaker 2: is kind of having a moment. Please welcome to the
Speaker 2: Lays Show, Jay Shetty.
Speaker 1: Will Smith is a big fan. I know Oprah is
Speaker 1: a big, big, big fan. Jay.
Speaker 2: You're amazing, Ja Shetty, Jay Shetty j He's the go
Speaker 2: to life coach for over fifty million followers. He's written books,
Speaker 2: He's on a world tour and this is huge for me.
Speaker 2: He officiated the wedding of j Lo and Ben Affleck
Speaker 2: on his podcast.
Speaker 1: Question is from Alanat Thank you for your question.
Speaker 2: He answers burning love questions.
Speaker 1: I've been ghosted recently for the first time. I feel
Speaker 1: like I did something wrong. Whoa right? This is such
Speaker 1: a common one for so many people. Now, why do
Speaker 1: we need closure?
Speaker 2: Jay's advice is tailored for the Internet, but it's rooted
Speaker 2: in Hindu philosophy. Jay was a monk in India for
Speaker 2: three years in his twenties, and that time gave him
Speaker 2: insights into the way that anyone can be more loving
Speaker 2: and more compassionate and more monk like, even if you've
Speaker 2: never been to an Ashram. Today we have Jay's Modern
Speaker 2: Love essay about dating like a monk and how that
Speaker 2: led him to the love of his life. Jay Sheddy,
Speaker 2: so excited to have you on the show. Welcome to
Speaker 2: Modern Love.
Speaker 1: Ah, thank you so much for having me. I'm so
Speaker 1: grateful to be here.
Speaker 2: So, Jay, you became a monk right after you graduated university,
Speaker 2: which is not the traditional postgrad plan. How did you
Speaker 2: make the choice to tokeate yourself to this way of life?
Speaker 1: So the first monk I ever met was at a
Speaker 1: college event. I used to go and hear speakers and
Speaker 1: athletes and musicians and thought leaders speak all the time.
Speaker 1: I went there expecting very little and thinking I didn't
Speaker 1: need anything that he was going to share. But I
Speaker 1: walked out of there with the newfound direction. He was
Speaker 1: talking about how the greatest gift in life, for the
Speaker 1: greatest purpose is to use our skills in the service
Speaker 1: of others. Now, when I look back, I realized that
Speaker 1: when I was eighteen, I'd met people who were beautiful,
Speaker 1: I'd met people who were rich, but I don't think
Speaker 1: i'd met anyone who is truly content and truly self aware.
Speaker 1: And he was all of those things. And so I thought, well,
Speaker 1: I want those things. Those things seemed to be worthy
Speaker 1: of pursuit. So, you know, for the next three to
Speaker 1: four years, I still had relationships, I was still going out,
Speaker 1: I was still doing anything that any person does at college.
Speaker 1: But I would spend my Some and Christmas vacations often
Speaker 1: visiting his monastery in India. Oh wow, Okay, And I'd
Speaker 1: spend the other half interning at financial companies and corporations
Speaker 1: in London, thinking that that's what I was going to
Speaker 1: do for work. And every time i'd come back from
Speaker 1: the monastery, I'd be full of joy and enthusiasm and energy.
Speaker 1: And every time i'd finish my internship, I'd think, I
Speaker 1: don't think that that's what I'm meant to be doing.
Speaker 1: So I allowed myself to live two separate lives because
Speaker 1: I was just trying to learn and understand. I was
Speaker 1: very young. I even skipped my graduation ceremonies because I
Speaker 1: was already in the monastery.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the other was everyone in your life? How
Speaker 2: did they react to that choice?
Speaker 1: So a lot of my friends were really confused. They
Speaker 1: were just like, what are you doing? Like, you know,
Speaker 1: everyone was getting fancy jobs and my extended family and
Speaker 1: community was actually quite negative. They were saying things like,
Speaker 1: you're wasting your life, You're never going to get a
Speaker 1: job again, you're joining a car.
Speaker 2: Wow. What would you tell them was so important about
Speaker 2: this way of life that you needed to go dedicate
Speaker 2: your existence to it?
Speaker 1: Well, the two things that I saw the monks in
Speaker 1: those summer and Christmas vacations, what they dedicated their life
Speaker 1: to was self mastery and service. And when I talk
Speaker 1: about self mastery, I mean understanding ego, understanding envy, understanding
Speaker 1: what our emotions are trying to tell us and how
Speaker 1: to respond to them. And the other half of service
Speaker 1: that they were living their life trying to build sustainable
Speaker 1: villages or food distribution programs to help the poor or
Speaker 1: disadvantaged children. And I saw them living their life in
Speaker 1: a way trying to positively impact others, and I thought,
Speaker 1: that's what I want to dedicate my life to, is
Speaker 1: figuring out what's going on inside of me and then
Speaker 1: help people figuring out what's going on outside.
Speaker 2: You became a monk in your twenties when most people
Speaker 2: are going out and flirting and going on dat and
Speaker 2: your modern love essay kind of begins with you listing
Speaker 2: out what your priorities were when you were a monk.
Speaker 2: Can you read that part of your essay for me?
Speaker 1: Yes? Absolutely, So. Monks are famously celibate, but celibacy doesn't
Speaker 1: just mean you're not having sex. It means you're not
Speaker 1: interacting with other people in a way that could be
Speaker 1: considered romantic. The Sanskrit word for monk, brahmacharia, means the
Speaker 1: right use of energy. It's not that romance and sexual
Speaker 1: energy are wrong, but my practice teaches that we all
Speaker 1: have a limited amount of energy, which can be directed
Speaker 1: in multiple directions or one, and when energy is scattered,
Speaker 1: it's difficult to create momentum or impact.
Speaker 2: You mentioned that these monks that you saw, who you
Speaker 2: so admired and were learning from, have this method of
Speaker 2: self mastery. Can you tell me what you learned about
Speaker 2: that method of subduing the ego over those three years.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, from a more general standpoint, I'd say that
Speaker 1: when you're living with a group of men in an ushroom,
Speaker 1: every single person is a mirror for your ego because
Speaker 1: you're having so many interactions daily that trigger you.
Speaker 2: Huh, what do you mean triggered? Like you know you
Speaker 2: have a difficult conversation or something.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it could It could be a difficult conversation. It
Speaker 1: could be that someone didn't save food for you when
Speaker 1: you relate to lunch or breakfast, right. It could be
Speaker 1: that you weren't selected to give a class this morning
Speaker 1: and someone else was, and you start noticing very worldly
Speaker 1: responses to spiritual tasks, and you realize that just being
Speaker 1: in an ushroom doesn't remove your ear. So I'd say
Speaker 1: that some of the practices that really helped were the
Speaker 1: practices of recognizing that everyone was a teacher and a
Speaker 1: student at the same time. This is something that was
Speaker 1: one of my favorite moments. Actually. I was with my
Speaker 1: monk teacher and he's in his sixties or seventies at
Speaker 1: the time, and I'm a young new monk, and every
Speaker 1: morning I would bow down to him, which was our custom,
Speaker 1: and he would bow down again back to me. And
Speaker 1: I would always think how special that was because there
Speaker 1: was this mutual respect. And I think that practice was
Speaker 1: really beautiful because you realized that you were never at
Speaker 1: the top and you were never at the bottom.
Speaker 2: Well, I want to talk about your decision to leave
Speaker 2: the ashram after three years. How did you make that call.
Speaker 1: So it was the most difficult decision I'd made at
Speaker 1: the time. Communal living was really tough on my body
Speaker 1: in terms of my health. I would get sick more
Speaker 1: often in the USHERM. You know, you're living in rooms
Speaker 1: from sometimes thirty to one hundred people, and so there
Speaker 1: was a physical health component. And then there was this
Speaker 1: deeper realization that I loved what I was learning. But
Speaker 1: all I dreamt about and thought about was how could
Speaker 1: I share this with other people? Because I know so
Speaker 1: many of my friends are dealing with this, but they're
Speaker 1: not going to come here, but I really feel the
Speaker 1: desire to share it with them, and I want to
Speaker 1: do that. And so there were these two self awareness
Speaker 1: pieces which led me to realize I wasn't a monk.
Speaker 1: And I think that's almost like realizing that you told
Speaker 1: someone you love them, but now you're falling out of
Speaker 1: love with them, or you realize you're not in love
Speaker 1: them anymore. Like that's how it felt.
Speaker 2: Did you talk to your teachers at all when you
Speaker 2: were thinking about making this hard decision to leave the Ashram?
Speaker 1: I did. I did, And I was even scared to
Speaker 1: talk to them about it because I didn't want to
Speaker 1: feel judged, or you know, you're almost dropping out and
Speaker 1: think what are your teachers going to say? Right? And
Speaker 1: my teacher said to me when I told him that
Speaker 1: I think I should leave, he said to me that
Speaker 1: some people go to college and some of them become professors.
Speaker 1: And he said some of them leave after their degree
Speaker 1: and they become entrepreneurs or they work at a company.
Speaker 1: And he said, which one's better, the people who become
Speaker 1: professors or the people who leave. And I said neither.
Speaker 1: I mean whatever's right for the person. And he said, well,
Speaker 1: that's the same here. He said, some people come and
Speaker 1: they graduate to become monks, and they stay here for
Speaker 1: many years, and some take their training like you did,
Speaker 1: and leave and go on to do wonderful things. And
Speaker 1: he said, I think you'll be very happy if you're
Speaker 1: sharing what you've learned, and so you should do that.
Speaker 1: And so there was this really like understanding open view
Speaker 1: of no, maybe it's not right for you anymore. It
Speaker 1: was right for you then and not anymore, and there's
Speaker 1: nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 2: Even in your decision to leave them. They had compassion
Speaker 2: for you, which is really beautiful.
Speaker 1: Exactly that time was extremely tough for me, and it
Speaker 1: wasn't even a happy decision. And it was even more
Speaker 1: depressing because when I came back, everyone was like, oh
Speaker 1: we told you so, oh you came back. Oh you
Speaker 1: failed being a monk. And then you know, I was
Speaker 1: applying for jobs and forty companies rejected me without an interview,
Speaker 1: and I was thinking, oh god, because.
Speaker 2: Your resume had Ashram for three years on it and
Speaker 2: nothing else.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, it's like, what are your transferable skills?
Speaker 1: Sitting star silent and being still like, no one wants
Speaker 1: that in their company, and so it was it was
Speaker 1: just almost like maybe everyone was right and maybe I
Speaker 1: did just waste three years. Yeah, really really difficult time.
Speaker 2: When you came back to London. You know, like in
Speaker 2: a science fiction movie or something, when people are frozen
Speaker 2: in those little pods and then they get released after
Speaker 2: thousands of years and they're like, what is a cell phone?
Speaker 2: Was it like that for you when you came back
Speaker 2: to London? Did you not recognize anything around you?
Speaker 1: The hardest part is having to do small when you've
Speaker 1: done no small talk for three years, right, You've not
Speaker 1: had a conversation about the latest TV show or the
Speaker 1: latest movie.
Speaker 2: Have you heard about self mastery and they'd be like, what,
Speaker 2: that's exactly it. That must have been really awkward as
Speaker 2: you started to get back into dating two. What was
Speaker 2: that part of it, like, like building a social life
Speaker 2: dating again.
Speaker 1: I didn't really think about dating overall, as I kind
Speaker 1: of I guess I was a bit scared, but I
Speaker 1: didn't even think about it that way. But I had
Speaker 1: definitely like forgotten how to flirt. But when I started
Speaker 1: talking to my now wife, because she was really good
Speaker 1: friends with my sister and she'd be over at our
Speaker 1: place and I'd be talking to her right, I only
Speaker 1: really knew how to have really thoughtful, vulnerable, deep conversations.
Speaker 1: I do remember that she was always very inquisitive, and
Speaker 1: so that was kind of helpful for me to just
Speaker 1: totally be myself. That kind of made it easy for
Speaker 1: me to be around her, I guess, because it wasn't
Speaker 1: someone that I had to be someone I wasn't around.
Speaker 2: After the break, Jay Shetty goes on a date after
Speaker 2: leaving the Ashram and it does not go well. That's next.
Speaker 2: So Jay, you've left the Ashram, you're back living in London,
Speaker 2: trying to return to a normal life. You're working you're
Speaker 2: starting to date, and eventually you go on a date
Speaker 2: with Roddy, who is now your wife. Can you read
Speaker 2: the part of your essay where you talk about your
Speaker 2: first date with her?
Speaker 1: Absolutely? The night was going to cost me nearly a
Speaker 1: week's income, and I wanted it to be perfect. We
Speaker 1: were at Locanda Locatelli, one of the best restaurants in London,
Speaker 1: when we slid into a buttery leather booth. I winced.
Speaker 1: She was vegan, and vegans aren't known to appreciate leather boots.
Speaker 1: But the lights were low, the ambiance beautiful, and I
Speaker 1: was still hoping to hear how impressed she was. Do
Speaker 1: you think they have anything vegan on the menu, she said,
Speaker 1: sounding more worried than excited. They're famous for their fresh pasta,
Speaker 1: I said, trying to sound optimistic, but I had signed
Speaker 1: us up for a special tasting menu and I didn't
Speaker 1: know how much choice she would have. Fresh pasta usually
Speaker 1: has eggs, she said, But we'll see. The service is amazing, right,
Speaker 1: I said. She smiled politely, but she wasn't eating much.
Speaker 1: After dinner. I drove her home and dropped her off
Speaker 1: outside her apartment. She thanked me and waived a friendly
Speaker 1: goodbye that the evening had fallen flat. Clearly, I had
Speaker 1: no idea what I was doing.
Speaker 2: Oh I'm feeling for you Jay in this moment. Oh
Speaker 2: my gosh, Why do you think it was so easy
Speaker 2: for you to slip back into this sort of unmonklike
Speaker 2: mode of trying to impress Rody? Like? What is it
Speaker 2: about dating someone that made you slip back to the
Speaker 2: old way of life?
Speaker 1: I think we're so unaware, and we underestimate how strongly
Speaker 1: our conditioning and wiring leads our life. Since I was young,
Speaker 1: I saw the dates that movies had in rom coms.
Speaker 1: I had done those dates with partners in my teens
Speaker 1: and college life, and so you assume that I just
Speaker 1: have to keep repeating this cycle until it goes wrong.
Speaker 1: And I think we don't realize how many cycles and
Speaker 1: how many patterns we live in until we start to
Speaker 1: break them. And it was only later that I figured
Speaker 1: out that my wife's favorite thing to do. She said
Speaker 1: to me, my ideal date would be going to Tesco's
Speaker 1: and walking down the bread aisle. Tesco's is England's Whole Foods.
Speaker 1: And I think that she was speaking more from a
Speaker 1: kind of funny tongue in cheek in terms of, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm simple. I just want to walk down an isle
Speaker 1: at a grocery store and pick something up to eat.
Speaker 1: We don't need to go to a fancy restaurant. And
Speaker 1: I thought that that was refreshing and beautiful because it
Speaker 1: showed me that she didn't value those things.
Speaker 2: How long did it take you to sort of relax
Speaker 2: into yourself with Roddy and what did it take to
Speaker 2: do that?
Speaker 1: Well, I think it was. I give the credit to
Speaker 1: her because she was so good at not trying to
Speaker 1: impress someone back. And I don't know, Radi's just a
Speaker 1: special human being. It's just like she's so different and
Speaker 1: weird in a good way. I dedicated my first book
Speaker 1: to her, and I wrote the dedication to be to
Speaker 1: my wife, who's more monk than I'll ever be. I
Speaker 1: just think that a lot of the qualities I learned
Speaker 1: during my time as a monk, Radi had them quite naturally.
Speaker 1: I look for monk qualities in everyone I meet, and
Speaker 1: I believe everyone, whether they've been a monk or not,
Speaker 1: have them. But the monk life really helps us consciously
Speaker 1: train them and build them and develop them as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm struck by when you said that she was,
Speaker 2: even though it was a bit of a joke, like
Speaker 2: I just want to walk down the bred aisle, that
Speaker 2: sort of simple, pure way of connecting does feel very
Speaker 2: monk like of her. I mean it sounds like you
Speaker 2: were picking up on these sort of monk like qualities
Speaker 2: in her even early on.
Speaker 1: I think that as well. But I think another thing
Speaker 1: that just came to mind is RADI would always say, Oh,
Speaker 1: I want you to come and spend time with my family.
Speaker 1: My family's really important to me. Remember when I first
Speaker 1: started hanging out at her house, her family would all
Speaker 1: often look at it and be like, are you really
Speaker 1: gonna wear that when he comes over, because she'd just
Speaker 1: be in sweats or whatever, and she'd be like, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that is what I'm gonna wear because that's what I
Speaker 1: would wear if I was at the house totally. And
Speaker 1: so she had this really like honest, vulnerable, open way
Speaker 1: of being from the beginning, and I think that was
Speaker 1: definitely monk like as well, to just say, yeah, this
Speaker 1: is who I am and this is how we'll be.
Speaker 2: And it's part of your practice now to try to
Speaker 2: develop or even hone those monk qualities in other people. Correct,
Speaker 2: that's your books and your podcast. That's sort of about
Speaker 2: sort of training folks who haven't spent years in Ashram
Speaker 2: to exhibit these qualities in their own life.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. The literatures that I studied during my
Speaker 1: time as a monk really laid out the four stages
Speaker 1: of life almost as four classrooms of love. So the
Speaker 1: four stages of life are considered you know, life in
Speaker 1: solitude or monk life or single life. The second stage
Speaker 1: is relationship life or married life. The third stage of
Speaker 1: life is almost reflecting and thinking about what you want
Speaker 1: to do next. And then the fourth stage of life
Speaker 1: is loving the world. And the monks believe that the
Speaker 1: most important love story is the love story you have
Speaker 1: with anyone and everyone and with the world. I think
Speaker 1: so often we've built up this idea in society that
Speaker 1: the most important love story is your romantic love story.
Speaker 1: So many people either go through life single and think
Speaker 1: that they're unworthy of love because they don't have a
Speaker 1: romantic partner, or someone loses their romantic partner and then
Speaker 1: they feel like they don't have any love in their life,
Speaker 1: but the love of a brother, a sister, or a
Speaker 1: mother or a father, like all of these loves count like.
Speaker 1: We can't say that romantic love is above or below
Speaker 1: any of these.
Speaker 2: Jay of those four steps, what stage do you think
Speaker 2: you're in?
Speaker 1: I would say that I probably have a bit of
Speaker 1: a glimpse into all of them.
Speaker 2: Wow, okay, uh huh.
Speaker 1: Probably at step two practicing to love my wife and
Speaker 1: the people around me. But I have a glimpse into
Speaker 1: step three and four because Step three requires a lot
Speaker 1: of healing tact love within yourself. And then stage four
Speaker 1: is where I want to live every day, which is
Speaker 1: I want to love everyone, and I want to share
Speaker 1: love with everyone on the planet, and I want to
Speaker 1: be able to spread love across the world.
Speaker 2: Well, you are on a world tour, so i'd say
Speaker 2: you're pretty You're pretty far in your way to step four.
Speaker 1: I guess I think I'm definitely. That's why I meant
Speaker 1: That's why I said glimpses, because when I'm with my teachers,
Speaker 1: I see how they live in that space, and I
Speaker 1: see how I just have a little peak, and that's
Speaker 1: good enough to prove to me it's real. And so
Speaker 1: I feel grateful that there's more to learn, though I'm
Speaker 1: not upset I'm not there. I'm happy that I know
Speaker 1: where I have to go. All I'm trying to give
Speaker 1: people is I don't want anyone to feel shame or
Speaker 1: guilt for how they currently live. I want you to
Speaker 1: feel clarity and curiosity about where you still have to go.
Speaker 2: M Jay Sheddy, thank you so much for coming on
Speaker 2: the show.
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. So grateful and appreciate your
Speaker 1: time and energy.
Speaker 2: Modern Love is produced by Julia Botero, Christina Josa, and
Speaker 2: Hans Buto. It's edited by Sarah Sarason. Our executive producer
Speaker 2: is Jen Poyant. This episode was mixed by Mary and Lozano.
Speaker 2: Our show was recorded by Mattie Macielo. The Modern Love
Speaker 2: theme music is by Dan Powell. Original music in this
Speaker 2: episode by Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker, and Rowan Nina Stow.
Speaker 2: Digital production by Mihima Chablani and Nelgael Oakley. Special thanks
Speaker 2: to Jay Shetty's team, Nicole Berg and ENnie Ginghold. The
Speaker 2: Modern Love column is edited by Daniel Jones. Me A
Speaker 2: Lee is the editor of Modern Love Projects. I'm Anna Martin,
Speaker 2: thanks for listening.
Speaker 1: I'm not in this world to live up to your
Speaker 1: expectations and you're not in this world to live up
Speaker 1: to mine. I just love that quote from Bruce Lee.
Speaker 1: And while it can feel really hard to overcome the
Speaker 1: limits placed on you by others, I'm here to remind
Speaker 1: you their limits don't have to be yours. The next
Speaker 1: seven minutes are about your potential and defying expectations. I'm
Speaker 1: Jay Sheddy. Welcome to the Daily Jay. Before we go
Speaker 1: any further, let's get centered with three deliberate breaths inhaling
Speaker 1: and exhaling, filling your lungs with ease, emptying them with focus,
Speaker 1: embracing this moment, and tuning in. Today, I'd like to
Speaker 1: introduce you to one of the most exciting runners of
Speaker 1: the past twenty years. No, I'm not talking about Usain
Speaker 1: Bolt or Alison Felix. I'm talking about Fouger's Singh, the
Speaker 1: world's oldest marathoner now. Fougia was not born with the
Speaker 1: traditional athletic build In fact, his legs were so skinny
Speaker 1: and weak that he couldn't walk at all until age five.
Speaker 1: Growing up in a farming village in India, other kids
Speaker 1: would tease him. They called him Dunder, which is Njabi
Speaker 1: for stick. Eventually, Fouga grew fit and healthy. He got married,
Speaker 1: had six children and a farm of his own. It
Speaker 1: was a good life, not without its challenges, but one
Speaker 1: that was full and fulfilling. Then, in his mid eighties,
Speaker 1: Fauja suffered the loss of his middle son, called Deep.
Speaker 1: His wife had passed away a few years earlier, and
Speaker 1: the rest of his children had long ago left India.
Speaker 1: Fauja felt lonely and lost, so he moved to England
Speaker 1: to live with some of his remaining family. He started
Speaker 1: running with fellow Punjabi expats, and he found that it
Speaker 1: helped him cope with his grief. It gave him purpose,
Speaker 1: and in fact, he was good at it, really good
Speaker 1: for his age. He had stayed in shape with his
Speaker 1: lifelong farm work, and when he challenged other seniors would win.
Speaker 1: Then one day he saw a marathon on TV. He
Speaker 1: didn't know exactly what the race was, but he wanted
Speaker 1: to compete. Even though Fouger enjoyed running, it seemed like
Speaker 1: a stretch to prepare for a twenty six mile trek,
Speaker 1: but Fouger was determined. He found a coach to train him,
Speaker 1: and several months later he finished the London Marathon. In
Speaker 1: just under seven hours. Since then, he has made global headlines,
Speaker 1: running and astonishing eight more marathons. He's also broken several
Speaker 1: world records, including being the first one hundred year old
Speaker 1: to finish a marathon. Fouga's last competitive race was a
Speaker 1: ten k in twenty thirteen, just before he turned one
Speaker 1: hundred and two. He's now retired, but he still runs
Speaker 1: for fun at the age of one huge hundred and eleven.
Speaker 1: All my life, Faugia once said, people set limitations on me.
Speaker 1: They said I would never walk, They said I would
Speaker 1: never farm. They certainly never thought I would set records
Speaker 1: with my running. No matter what people said, I always
Speaker 1: believed in myself. I never gave up. Fauga's story is
Speaker 1: remarkable because he didn't let the expectations of others determine
Speaker 1: his path or slow him down, despite the supposed barriers
Speaker 1: in his way. Maybe you can relate to that. Maybe
Speaker 1: there's something you want to do but people keep saying
Speaker 1: you can't, or you've been teased for something that's supposed
Speaker 1: to hold you back, whatever it may be. Don't let
Speaker 1: outside opinions prevent you from pursuing your passions or chasing
Speaker 1: your dreams. Don't let others define what your life looks like.
Speaker 1: Remember those are their limits, not yours. And as our
Speaker 1: time today winds down, let's meditate on that. So get
Speaker 1: comfortable wherever you are, allowing your body and mind to
Speaker 1: relax into the present. See if you can adopt a
Speaker 1: compassionate attitude here, embracing yourself and your experience whatever this
Speaker 1: practice brings. This is a moment of rest. You don't
Speaker 1: have to do anything or be anywhere. And if you
Speaker 1: find your mind busy or your body restless, that's okay.
Speaker 1: There's nothing you need to do with your thoughts or emotions.
Speaker 1: Just observe that they exist and see if you can
Speaker 1: gently let them be. Allow yourself to feel whatever you're
Speaker 1: feeling right now. Meditation is a beautiful opportunity to just
Speaker 1: be aware of your present experience. And now let's open
Speaker 1: this up. Bring to mind an interest that you might
Speaker 1: like to pursue, but you're hesitant, wondering if time has
Speaker 1: passed you by. Can you open yourself up to the
Speaker 1: possibility that it's not actually too late. What's one step
Speaker 1: you could take toward that interest. I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: seeing what you're going to do next. Thanks for being here. Today,
Speaker 1: I'd love you to share this message with someone who
Speaker 1: could use it, and I'll see you tomorrow