Slowing Down on the Inside: A New Year's Reflection
Those of us who wish to do our part in leaving the world in a better state than we found it in, run the risk of falling into a form of activism that gradually erodes our spirit and may eventually leave us feeling empty, burnt out, and overwhelmed.
Even if we have less altruistic motives, and just want to forge a successful career and eke out a bit of happiness, our inner life can become a sort of ever-shrinking sand dune that is swallowed up in the waves of life. Life can become “one damn thing after another,” a race against the clock whose deeper purpose seems to have slipped away.
But meaning and purpose - ultimately, hope - are the fuel that make a human life worth living. Without them, life becomes harsh and relentlessly demanding. Without a sense of meaning, purpose, and hope, a minor setback can feel overwhelming. With a sense of mission in life and the hope of achieving it, even a significant setback can be bravely confronted and overcome.
The new year is as good a time as any to recalibrate on the inside. There is so much to occupy us on the outside, from the world of work to the world of entertainment. Work may be unpleasant or mindless, or it may be engaging and challenging. Either way, it has the potential to consume us in activism to the neglect of the spirit. And there is no shortage of entertainment, from gadgets on Amazon to fashion shopping, to Playstation, to Netflix movies and TV series, to whatsapping the afternoon away, to scrolling through social media.
The question is, how often do we slow down on the inside, to step back and try to make sense of what’s going on? How often do we ask ourselves, why do I do what I do? What do I hope to accomplish in my lifetime? What do I really care about? Or what should I really care about? If the external circumstances of modern life do not facilitate this sort of inner recollection or “mindfulness,” then perhaps we need to change those circumstances.
Many of us have the sense that we are being swept along through life by a rythm we do not control, whether the duties of parenting, scaling the career ladder, or reacting to a non-stop social media feed. While nobody is in full control of their life, there are ways to become a little more reflective, a little more thoughtful or “mindful,” a little more intentional in our choices, and a little less enslaved to the flow of events outside of us.
For without inner freedom, freedom of the spirit, there is no true freedom.
Happy new year to all of my readers and subscribers!
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I can identify with the warning you express here David. Solutions to the problem I am and will be attempting are connecting with the natural world as much as possible. Nature contains so much beauty and wonder to behold therein, even with the many crimes being committed against it in the name of progress, geopolitical manoeuvring, the green agenda etc., that it's almost impossible not to slow down on the inside when truly contemplating it. Together with great humour, art and true sporting competition, I find daily exposure to the natural world to be an antidote to feeling empty, burnt out, and overwhelmed and allows space for the positive sense of gratitude. Time will tell how effective my antidote is. In the meantime, Happy New Year to you and your family.
I love slow work. One related thought that recently came to my mind surrounding these issues, and in relation to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is that I deeply treasure freedom of through and freedom of expression (in the form of the written word and conversation). But when it comes to freedom of association, I am often quite happy to forego this freedom for myself--not in the sense that this freedom should not exist but in the sense that I prefer to be at home with my family and withdraw inward. Our freedom to do something also implies the freedom to not do it.