There’s a question that has been echoing in my mind these past days: what could I do more of? It sounds simple, but when you sit with it long enough, it stops being a casual thought and turns into a mirror. Because in asking this question, I am really asking myself: Am I living the life I was meant to live, or am I simply moving through it?

The truth is, we spend so much time measuring our lives by what we don’t have, by what we haven’t achieved, by what we fear we’re missing. But what if the real measure of a meaningful life is not in the more that the world expects, but in the more that our soul quietly craves?

More Pauses

I could do more of pausing. To stop treating every day as a race I must finish, and instead, let it unfold like a page in a book—slowly, word by word. A pause doesn’t take away from productivity; it deepens it. A pause is where the soul catches its breath, where I hear the things that are usually drowned out by noise.

More Captures, More Keeping

I could do more of capturing—not just photographs with my Instax, but the moments that can’t be printed: the feeling of broth warming me after a night shift, the laughter of friends echoing between Birmingham’s streets, the quiet pride of buying something I’ve long wanted. Memories are not just what happen to us; they are what we choose to notice, what we choose to keep.

More Kindness to Myself

I could do more of being kind to myself. Sometimes, kindness is not in the grand gestures but in the simple act of giving yourself permission. Permission to rest without guilt. Permission to treat yourself to a new lipstick because beauty, even in small forms, nourishes the spirit. Permission to buy that Instax camera because joy is not a luxury—it’s a need.

More Presence with People Who Matter

I could do more of being present. Truly present. To look at a friend’s face instead of the clock. To listen to stories not as background noise but as treasures being handed to me. To remember that the people in front of me are not interruptions to life—they are life.

More Time With God’s Word

And perhaps the most important of all: I could do more of returning to the Word. To open my Bible not only when I’m desperate, but also when I’m grateful. To be consistent with reflection, not as an obligation but as a rhythm of love. Because faith is not just about believing—it is about remembering daily that I am held, guided, and loved beyond measure.

If there’s one thing life has been teaching me, it’s this: joy is not something you chase endlessly into the distance; it’s something you cultivate right where you are. Success is not only in the milestones but in the daily choices to show up with integrity, with love, with gentleness. And peace is not in having everything figured out—it is in knowing where to anchor yourself when you don’t.

So, what could I do more of? I could do more of living like each day is already enough. I could do more of collecting small joys the way one collects seashells on a shore—each one ordinary on its own, but together, they become something beautiful, something worth keeping.

And maybe that’s the punch line, the only one that matters: And maybe that’s the punch line, the only one that matters:

To do more of what brings me closer to God, closer to others, and closer to myself. Because in the end, it’s not about adding more years to life, but more life to the years.