activities are overrated.

In some round-about way, we tend to liken life with activity.

When people make statements about feeling alive, in most cases, they are referring to a state of being that’s active. It’s almost as if they have to be doing something to feel something.

We’re taught that verbs are doing words, and although we use them as such, we unconsciously do not regard certain inactive verbs as true verbs. Verbs like sleeping, resting, or dying register in our mind as inactive, but they are actually doing words too.

The act and art of doing make us feel alive. If we are not doing something, we might as well be dead—or so we think.

And that’s what I thought for a long time. I thought my life could only be full if I’m busy. I disregarded the idea of resting, sleeping and how the lack of those two activities could lead to dying.

I felt like if I wasn’t doing something, then I wasn’t moving. And no one wants to be motionless.

Being active made me feel like I was in control over my next step or life generally. And deep down, we all want to be in control all the time.

Even when we meet people going through challenging situations, we say to them, “keep moving,” as if their moment of despair suggests inactivity.

The reality is, and I’m learning this, the opposite is true. Better things happen when we are still and at rest.

Our supposed inactivity can actually lead to a better understanding of ourselves, our environment, relationships, and reality. And we can then lean on this understanding as we grow.

Being in control all the time is overrated and, frankly, impossible. The same goes for being in motion.

So, if you tend to liken life with activity, remember that sometimes, activity can suck the life out of you.

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