One thing I’m realizing is how much artificial stuff gets built into our lives and our days. For me, at least, I am always immersed in one activity or another and bouncing from event to frienddate to actual date to travels and exercise classes and music events. It is endless. Especially, in NYC, it is possible to get into a cycle of fast-paced living where the meaning lies mostly in the speed and the ability to rack up as many activities as possible. The thoughts are about the next accomplishment and milestone. How much more you can push yourself. The next party. The next company. The next promotion. The next summer. The next weekend. Endless.
What is the antidote to all of this? There is some forced relaxation component to taking yourself out of the picture entirely. Booking yourself a flight to CO and then SF is one way to do it. But then it starts again. What else can be layered into this trip? How can I squeeze the most experience out of every moment? I believe this is an affliction, this addiction to doing rather than being.
To be is to be present. It means to sit, to not plan, to live for the activity you’re undertaking at the moment instead of projecting ahead to what you need to do tonight, tomorrow, next week, to make sure your calendar is full. A full calendar means a full life, means meaning.
And then the result can be a fragmented shell without an identity, a semi-shattered soul wondering…who am I? What do I stand for? Why am I trying to manufacture happiness? Just be happy. Just be. And when moving, move with purpose. Make meaning.
Discomfort Woman 