I AM ART: Soo Kyung Kim

This afternoon, my doctor, who also practices chiropractic care and specializes in helping with trapped emotions, gave me a wake-up call. He said, “Soo, your body is under stress, and it’s causing insomnia because you’re feeling guilty about not meeting your goals on time.” I hadn’t fully grasped how much my constant drive to push myself was affecting my well-being. His insights brought to mind a passage from Björn Natthiko Lindeblad’s I May Be Wrong, which offers a powerful reminder to let go of perfection and be kinder to ourselves. Björn’s words, “It would do all of us good to bear in mind that we’re doing the best we can. Others are doing the best they can, too,” struck a deep chord with me. His reflections, shaped by his experiences as a monk, emphasize self-compassion and acceptance. They remind us that life doesn’t need to be flawless to be meaningful—a lesson I’m slowly learning to embrace. By easing up on the pressure to be perfect, I’m discovering the value of focusing on do...

From Rigid Beliefs to Resilient Thinking  A Journey Toward Balance "A man was hiking on a mountain trail when he suddenly slipped and fell off the edge of a cliff. Desperately, he grabbed hold of a small branch sticking out from the side, dangling above a deep drop. Terrified, he looked up to the sky and shouted, "God, help me!" To his surprise, a calm voice from the heavens replied, "If you trust me, let go of the branch." The man hesitated, gripping the branch even tighter. He then looked around and called out in a panic, "Is there anyone else out there?!" Björn Natthiko Lindeblad shared the story of the man hanging from a cliff to illustrate a deeper point: sometimes, the very beliefs we hold onto so strongly are what can cause the most harm in the end. In the story, the man’s belief in the need for control and safety prevented him from trusting the guidance he was given, even though that guidance could have saved him. Lindeblad used this as a meta...