Henri Jozef Nouwen
I love this quote so much. I'm often victim to this behavior (although as an artist, creating never stops). Yet, when I started my years long journey on the road, I, more often than not, encountered those "slow-travelers" who spent a large portion of their day doing nothing. It was a shock to me. Having been born in a fast-paced metropolitan where rajas reigned, this new way of living was unacceptable, unfathomable. But as I slowly learned, this wasn't their way of living. This was their way of discovering who they were beyond labels and roles. They did have a life that they lived in their countries, but shed it all on their journeys. And it was very effective, as I realized when I applied it to my own life. Even now, I look forward to switching off, going into silence for days at a time, and delving inward to connect with myself time and again. And every time I come out, I realize how easy it is to be pulled by the tidal wave of the oversaturated everything that flows around us all the time and that if we're not anchored in something greater than ourselves (be it art, a daily practice, or some sort of sadhana), we can be rocked like a small boat in a storm, moving constantly but never reaching our destination.
"I do not want to suggest that productivity is wrong or needs to be despised. On the contrary, productivity and success can greatly enhance our lives. But when our value as human beings depends on what we make with our hands and minds, we become victims of the fear tactics of our world.
When productivity is our main way of overcoming self-doubt, we are extremely vulnerable to rejection and criticism and prone to inner anxiety and depression. Productivity can never give the deep sense of belonging we crave. The more we produce, the more we realize that successes and results cannot give us the experience of “at homeness.”
In fact, our productivity often reveals to us that we are driven by fear. In this sense, sterility and productivity are the same: both can be signs that we doubt our ability to live fruitful lives."
- Henri Jozef Nouwen
