Don't do something, just sit there
Our culture encourages and sometimes implores us to do something.
When we’re exhausted from our 9-5 job, our first impulse is to drain our savings to take an exotic vacation. We reach for the drink, the phone, the new toy and empty our pockets and hearts from our personal power in the process.
But more often than not, the solution to what ails us is actually the cause of it. If only we could sit still and breathe, we’d recognize this. But we’re too busy caught in the trap. We flitter from one shiny distraction to the next because we’ve forgotten how to engage with our inner child—that part of us that knows it’s safe and goes out to play with stones and twigs.
Often it is action—not inaction—which leaves us broke and desperate. It’s the thousand cuts of lattes and gym memberships and car payments and streaming service subscriptions and cocktails.
The next time you find yourself pining for escape from toil, ask yourself whether your drug of choice—the vacation, the new clothes, the new car, the night out—will only necessitate more toil afterwards. Chances are, you’re throwing gasoline on the fire of your own misery.
Close your eyes, breathe, and realize you’re okay right here, right now.
Don’t do something. Just sit there.