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RRR

This weekend I took a run up a hill around Kathmandu. I ran to Champadevi, through Chovar, Kritipur. I ran to the hills after a while. It was exhausting. The run (or walk uphill) was brutal for my body. My body started to having comfort of running in plain.

At this point in life, I quietly started to observe the world differently. I see things through the lens of my years and years of living. As I am approaching my 50s, I started to notice small things. My body takes a little longer to recover. The mind becomes more reflective. The ambitions of youth slowly transform into questions about meaning and purpose. For many people, this stage is called a midlife crisis. But I prefer to see it differently. It is not necessarily a crisis. Sometimes it is simply a midlife awakening.

For me, that awakening has taken the form of three simple practices: RRR — Running, Reading, and Resting.

Lets talk about running. In fact, it was only recently that I started serious running. Two years ago, I ran my first trail race — the Manjushree Trail Race, covering 10 kilometres. It was challenging but deeply satisfying. Last year, I pushed the distance to 30 kilometres. Somewhere along those steep hills and forest trails, I discovered something surprising: the body, even in midlife, is capable of far more than we often assume. I completed my marathon in November. This year, I am preparing for 50 kilometres on the same trail, the ULTRA marathon.

When I tell people about it, some respond with mild disbelief. At 47, many expect people to slow down. But running has taught me that age does not always mean decline. Sometimes it means discipline. Sometimes it means keep going. Running has transformed the body

When it comes to reading, reading trains the mind. I hear Ryan Holiday saying, "You will become wise when you begin to have conversations with the dead." I wonder what that means. He means to say, read books, read biographies, read about the wise people. Reading allows us to enter conversations with thinkers from different eras, cultures, and disciplines.

The third R, Resting, is perhaps the most important lesson midlife teaches us.

When I was younger, rest often felt unnecessary. Sleep can be sacrificed. Recovery is quick. But with age comes wisdom. The body demands respect. Recovery becomes essential. For me, resting is now to recover from my physical fatigue. At the same time, rest allows me to reflect, reconnect with family, and step away from the constant urgency of work. I often enjoy a cup of coffee, doomscrolling my phone. 

The RRR has given me a purpose and discipline. In these moments, I started to understand that life is not just about speed. It is about rhythm, which I have simplified as RRR; running keeps the body alive, reading keeps the mind fit, and resting keeps the soul sustainable.

I am not searching for dramatic transformations anymore. Instead, I run a little, read a little and rest a little.

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