It is a peculiar kind of modern madness: the inability to exist in a state of rest without the creeping sensation that you are somehow decomposing.
We think our inability to relax is a personal failing… It isn’t. It’s a physiological response to a culture that has successfully rebranded stillness as a sin.
– The Cost of Constant Motion
I remember trying to explain cryptocurrency to my cousin last summer. I spent 87 minutes lecturing him… I had to be ‘productive.’ I had to be the person who knew things, who explained things, who optimized the conversation.
We’ve turned downtime into a commodity to be traded.
The Mirror of Stillness
Stillness is a mirror. If you don’t like what you see, you’ll pick up the hammer of busyness and smash the glass every single time.
“I’ve watched people on 7-day retreats spend the first 37 hours in a state of near-physical withdrawal.”
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We are so used to the 97% capacity life that the 7% life feels like death. But it’s in that 7%-that low-power mode-where the brain actually begins to heal.
Rest as Rebellion
Real rest is an act of rebellion. It is a flat-out refusal to participate in the valuation of humans as capital.
Time
It belongs to you.
Presence
Not maximizing metrics.
Self
Enough without production.
The 7 Minute Practice
Sit in a chair, with no phone and no book, for 7 minutes. Don’t meditate. Just sit there and feel how much you hate sitting there. Notice the guilt that tells you this is a waste of time. That guilt is the voice of the system that wants you to keep producing until you break.
The True Nature of the Void
We fear the void because we think the void is empty. But the void is actually where everything else is stored.
37 Ideas
“The music isn’t just the notes; it’s the space between the notes. Without the silence, the music is just a 107-decibel scream.”
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The Choice to Remain Present
Missed the light on the water.
Noticing the current moment.
The world will keep spinning at 1,007 miles per hour whether I’m checking my email or staring at the ceiling.