Rediscovering life is like a box of chocolates

Originally posted on Medium on Feb 4, 2026

The other day, I stepped into the mindset of a mentee. He showed me a sport he’d been learning as a kid (though he’s still a kid now). Archery. It was fascinating and I loved it. And shocking to me, I was pretty good at it (even according to the legends at the archery location).

There was something about it, seemingly so simple, but so elegant. It’s a mixture of focus, precision, strength, positioning, and follow-through.

It was something I knew nothing about, but I learned fairly quickly after going through a standard 20 min training lesson. I learned how to stand, how to aim, position my fingers and arm, hold both the bow and arrow, and most importantly, where (and how) to focus and aim.

There’s something about the focus and precision that was enthralling. A certain satisfaction of hitting a perfect 10. The sound of the swoosh of the arrow.

Not too shabby for my literal first time, no?

I spent 2.5 hours there, and it felt like I could have spent hours more. I wanted to get it down and I wanted to get it right. I’ll probably return later, to be honest (I managed to snag a VIP status today, thanks to my friend). I wanted to train and practice. I had just begun to learn the fundamentals of archery. Obviously, there’s so much more to learn.

But that wasn’t what I walked away with tonight. I had forgotten that hobbies exist and had forgotten how to enjoy my life outside of work. For the longest time, I’d emphasized the beauty of life, the importance of focusing and prioritizing the things that truly matter in life. The human elements of life. Creativity, imagination, serendipity. I had been saying (and thinking about) it for so much and for so long, I gradually forgot to actually live it. And that’s what I got a semblance of again for the first time in the longest time. For a very precious few hours.

After practicing a few rounds, I played a game. Here’s the results from my first game. Started off relatively okay in Round 1 and 2. Lost focus (had no coach) in Rounds 3 and 4. Coach came back Round 5. Round 6 Coach was still here, but I was tired.

Why yes, I played in Korea.

My takeaways.

• When I’m focused, I got it. I’m not perfect by any means, but this was also my first time doing archery. Ever. So given that, I mean, perfect is impossible.

• I lost focus too easily, by trying to speed up, and not getting the basics right (didn’t check to see where the line of focus (focused only on the circle targets) was before I let go. I also didn’t have someone coaching me for the two rounds. No one to correct where my fingers and hands were. No one to tell me when I was holding and aiming for too long. No one to tell me to lift my chin and head up, just a smidge. That’s what happened when I tried to rush and do it alone.

• Round 5, Coach came back. I was being properly trained and just look at the improvement. That’s the delta improvement with just a few tweaks here and there, with someone showing and correcting in real time. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good for my first time.

After, we decided to get some food. Now I could have come straight home after, but I didn’t. Because I actually remembered what it was like to just do normal things again. No optimizing for time or schedule. No thinking about how to best prioritize tasks and the rationale. No corporate-ifying what I say and do and thinking about if I’m doing enough or not. No having to justify my qualifications and competence to anyone. No convincing, no persuading, no selling, no strategizing, no planning. Just living. It really was that simple for me.

For a few hours, I got a taste of that feeling. But I realize while that’s great and all, that’s not quite reality. The messes are still there and they’re messy. I know I don’t need to start again and I’m not. But I do need a clear mind.

And I walked away from the night a bit nostalgic, a little disappointed with myself, but overall grateful. I did have a good night with some beautiful snow, spent time with a new friend, took my mind off all the mess of the reality of current life, but grateful of the reminder that good things, good people still do exist. And appreciative that while I, as the older person, was technically the mentor, you can learn from anyone, anywhere, and anytime. I mentioned that I wanted to practice more, that I thought it was cool, because it actually is, if you think about it. And he responded, “Well you can always start”. And I can. Tonight, the roles were reversed and I learned something new.

Like Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get”. If you stay open, you’ll find the serendipity of life. When you see that glimmer, like I had the opportunity to tonight, make sure you keep it.