Finding abundance in simplicity

Chuseok, or Full Moon Festival, is all about abundance, which is found in simple things

Published on 2024-09-11

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Abundance is not just what you have, but how you feel.

Chuseok, or Hangawi, is one of the biggest holidays in Korea.

Originating from the Shilla Period(BC57~), it celebrates the bountiful autumn harvest and expresses gratitude for life's abundance and ancestors through rituals. In modern days, we get to enjoy a few days off work to enjoy ourselves, and many people travel from large cities to their hometowns to visit family members. Some would still carry out the worship ritual to pay respect to the ancestral spirits if they still followed the Confucian tradition. I have fond memories of this holiday from my childhood, where all our extended family members would get together, do the ritual in the early morning, and then spend the rest of the day eating, drinking, snacking, playing games, talking to each other, going on excursions, and simply bonding. It was the olden days when we didn't depend on the internet and social media just yet. At the center of that tradition in my family was my father, who brought everyone together.

Now that he is going in and out of our lives with his crippling dementia and his aging brothers and sisters faltering with their own life's battles, the family no longer gets together. I used to be real sad about that, but I'm not anymore. The holiday has given many joyful memories and loving moments, but also carried a lot of family drama and heartache. For example, as an adult woman, I started seeing so much sacrifice my mom had to make to host everyone every year for decades and the conflicts that were born out of that sacrifice. (This is actually one of the major causes of marital troubles and divorces in my mom's generation.) I'm sad that the tradition has ended in that particular format, but glad that some of us have become freed from the weight of responsibilities and dramas.

The lesson I've learned over the years is that your life can pass you by before your eyes when you're so wrapped up in the good ol' past.

Once you wise up and see that the present has so much to offer you, you get busy cherishing what you have now.

Sure, my father has Alzheimer's, but I'm grateful that he is still alive and with us.

Sure, I have a lot of weight on my shoulders, but I'm grateful that I have enough means and support to care for myself mentally and physically.

Sure, the whole thing with dad has been stressful for mom, but I'm grateful that she is cancer-free, able, and in good spirit.

Sure, I didn't get to do some of the initiatives I had planned for the year, but I'm grateful that my business is growing nonetheless.

Although the hype around the holiday can be a lot with a list of people to say hello and send gifts to, I plan to stick to the basics. I'm going to get a lot of sleep, enjoy good food, catch up on good books and movies, plan a winter vacation, and cuddle with my furry ones. And I will be spending time with a few of the closest people. That's plenty rich for this simple soul. That's how I find abundance in simplicity, and acceptance and mindfulness are my companions.

I hope you, too, can find abundance in simplicity under the glow of the beautiful full moon.

Hugs,

Joon

#RedesignProductivity

for

#ResonantProductivity

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joonyoung Kim is a Productivity and Leadership Coach based in Korea. Through her private coaching program for women leaders Redesign Productivity, she shares her deep passion for helping women leaders rethink what being productive means so that they can spend their time and energy meaningfully to drive fulfillment and abundance in life and at work

She is one of the first Korean-English bilingual coaches in Korea to be certified by Leadership Circle Profile™, the most innovative 360° leadership assessment tool available in the market.

In addition to developing women leaders, she also partners with EZRA Coaching, Leadership Circle, and Coachdot as an executive coach and develops corporate leaders from diverse industries across APAC. She's certified by the International Coaching Federation, Co-Active Training Institute & Leadership Circle, and she coaches & trains in English or Korean on Zoom across time zones.