Time out

I have so many thoughts playing on my head as to what I need to do next. “You cannot ‘not-be-working’”, “You are wasting time”, “People are going to ask you what’s next and you need to know what to say”, “Do you really need this?” and “Trust me it will do you good”. Majority of them are just getting me anxious for being on a break. 

Have you heard of the concept of break year? So I have a few friends who have taken a break year or break months, where they are not working anymore, not studying and have nothing in mind for the present. I am on a break period and its been two weeks. The anxiety could be lethal. I’m scared to admit that I’m taking a break. The whole purpose of it, being a break, is defeated because mentally I’m just constantly fretting.

(A deep breath in, sigh)

If you can sense the millionth of a milli second and have control of what you think, see, do, speak, move, anything that flows or moves in that split of time; (sort of like Matrix) what would you want to do? What is it you would want to spend your time doing if you had just that much time left with you? Its tough to say what I would want to do but I know exactly the things I would not want to be doing. Not using my phone tops the list, rather choose doing nothing.

Productivity is so drilled into us; we need to prove we are busy all the time. We are taught the concept of time management, and the more work we get done in the twenty-four hours, the better we are considered. Have you heard songs where they build up and then suddenly break it off to a complete rest for a beat and play again. If you play a musical instrument, you would know that the rest is equally important if not more. Going with the beats, placing the notes where the fall and rest when we don’t play a note. Even the notations have a sign for rest. 

I’m working on a new vegetable garden and I want to share something I learnt about the soil in agriculture. You plough the land, sow the seeds, let it go through the process and reap the harvest. For the next sowing season, you have to let the soil rest. The longer the rest the better for the soil to build up good bacteria and micro organisms, and the richer the soil. Nature has many things to teach us if we look closely. Being busy depletes us of our creative energy, passion, the drive, proactive attitude; it all gets used up to grow our plants. Once we reap some benefit, we have to get back all these good bacteria and micro organisms, which comes back with good rest. 

In school we always got a Christmas break and Summer holidays. No work during these breaks. Once you’re in the “Corporate world” the golden word is “Hustle”. What about the maximum stress that a human mind can be subjected to? Doctors will prescribe you drugs, and others- workout, diets and innumerable suggestions for stress related disorders. I thought prevention was better than cure. I would love to see people understand work management and rest management, leisure being the tougher one to manage in a fast paced environment.

I had asked a friend once, when we met, “What are you doing now?” and I was quite surprised when she confidently said “Nothing!”. Now I clearly understand why she respected what she was doing even if no one else was and she wasn’t afraid of saying it out loud. “An Idle mind is the devil’s playground” heard that one. Busy minds don’t give new ideas, may be devil’s playground is a good thing after all. Its only when we stop and breathe, in our moments of relaxation, we get all the good insights. For a muscle to grow after tearing, for the dough to rise once kneaded, for stains to be removed through soaking, and for human minds to think in its full potential; REST.

---

If by Rudyard Kipling: A poem I want to live by

---