Do you feel guilty when you do nothing? Meaning – do you feel that you are useless, that nobody cares when you don’t do anything or are you capable to relax and wait for the moment to act?
Inaction
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I feel guilty… I waste my 21 years of life on doing nothing…
In fact i waste my 21 years on waiting for change…
All the time my life is changing…
But it isn’t that what i’m waiting for..
Do i wait for miracle?
Or… Do i wait for grow up?
Finding sense?
See what “real life” is?
hm… Maybe IT is a miracle of life?
Right Action is what is important.I have spoken with many people who cannot relax and sit still to reflect because they believe that they must be “busy” all the time (the classic “doing” rather than “being”.
Paulo: your books are a tremendous inspiration but they do not GIVE people the answer; rather they help people to find the answer that they has all along.
Inaction can be a great thing when reflecting.
“Busy” people sometimes are not busy enough when it comes to focussing on what really matters.
You are where you are today because of the actions that you have taken (and some of those might have been to “do” nothing).
Let’s all find our own balance and learn from the past rather than live in it.
“the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; but the second best time is TODAY” (added by Mobile using Mippin)
I am growing big.
I am doing an audit.
I am inacting the goodie in me.
and extracting all the baddie.
I find it very rewarding.
Cloud nine I hope is coming.
I am going to go and see my sweeties.
I am starting to do some new painting.
That makes me really happy, happy, happy me.
I am glad I am still in the process of learning.
It is quite adventuring.
Even when the paper is running thin.
Because I still have something of a good thing in the thing a magi
I am sure you know what I mean.
I thought a bit more:
I probably am a very lucky person: I can dream now. I got that ability to believe in myself now, and tell myself, that I do not have to be reallistic, I can do whatever I want. I can dream. I just never done it before, I think. Life would always “help” me. And now I can be inactive and look inside of myself. Too bad, I do not see nothing.. I guess, it is my time to learn how to. It is better to have it now, than never, right? What if I won’t see anything? What if I do not see anything right now? Paulo, do you have any advise or idea?
So I do feel inadequate now, after people asked me what do I do. I feel like I can not classify myself. And I feel some uncomfort because of that. (At the same time, of cause, I would hate to classify myself ;)) I want to believe I am special) Besides, I also would like to achieve self-realization. For that I should learn about myself. And you can do it even when you work. Or, actually, work helps. )) How do you learn about youeself anyway? at work you see yourself making choices. When you had isolated yourself from others like I did, how do you learn about yourself? How do you learn about yourself without influence of cultural structure? What is there without culture? Me? Who am I? I don’t get new ideas without some starting point I get from cultural experience. Who am I? Being… Inactive being. Very egoistic one. Otherwise I would do something to help others, right?
There is a new term in Russia : Generation “Egoist”
I am glad I could think about it, since your question was a starting point. I acted a little bit ;). But again, not from inside out.
Do you know how can you control and structure your thoughts, so it would not be a “always wonder around”, and waiting for outside push thinking “go with a flow”, so you can finaly learn something in life?
Sorry, I always write long. Till the end of the paper.
That is such a great question for me right now. I live in USA while I am from Russia. I did not work for 2 years, and I don’t work now. When I went to Russia, I met my classmates at classmates reunion and they would ask me what do I do. They would all tell each other what have they achieved, and it was only me who would say “I do nothing. I do not work.” It seemed strange. Oakward. Could I consider myfelf a looser? I know they don’t think so. I look very good, healthy, beter then most of them. I don’t pretend. I had so much great experiences in my life, they can only dream of… And can do even more, if decide so.. And I do nothing.
On the way back to USA I had a converstation with a lucky man whos profession is God’s blessing, I believe. He found his “call” when he was 7 years old. He asked me what did I want and what talents did I have when I was a child. He wanted me to find my blessing. And I want it too. I always was too realistic and logical, even in my chilhood, so even my dreams where down to Earth. And now I want something. I want to find my bliss. I am waiting for it for 2 years by now. I am waiting for some clues from the life. On another hand, I did not like, that the boy in Alchimist (I am listening it right now) was pushed to something. It was a good push )). What if I should not wait for the push, and there is nothing in me that wants to get out except of pride and ambition? I am thinking about fame. But… will I want it after I get it? At least, I would apply myself somehow. Even if it won’t work out, I would get a new experience, some growth… But fame is so vaine … I want to want something real. Help people in nursing home would be boring. I really do not know. So I sit in my inactivity and being lazy. I feel like I am even lazy to think. Or, better, unable to think the way which would bring me to an answer. Just go by cycles. Nothing new comes into my mind. Nothing new (except ofnice traveling ;) ) comes into my life.
I love your books. They help me grow ) So I was wrong about “nothing new” )) They are actually are that new in my life. They are not borring like most books I start and never finish!! I wish someone would come and incourage me, pushed me to find my dream. Your question does )). I do not have a wise man, who would tell me what is my dream. Maybe it is better that way. When it comes from inside, it is stronger. It is like you yourself. So you have no choice but go forward. Here are my thoughts about inaction.
By the way, I know one person who can be a very interesting character for one of your future books. He is unique. And his life was very interesting.
Hi Paulo:
I’ve just met you and i like what i’ve read from you so much.
Maybe i should have wait for the moment to write here, but to do that, for me, is doing nothing.
Sometimes i need silence around me but, in the silence, the sounds of my thoughts keeps in my mind.
Sometimes i need to do nothing for a while, but in the same time i think that to do nothing is a waste of time.
Anyway, litlle times, i try to relax and wait for the right moment to do what i consider is the right thing.
I don´t know the meeaning of feeling useless and i don´t feel guilty when i do what i want, being something or nothing.
Thanks for let me being here in this moment.
Pleased to meet you.
Un saludo.
Thiago Bruno, para entrar no site do G1, é só
clicar:http://colunas.g1.com.br/paulocoelho
Obs. Suas opiniões serão avaliadas pelo mediador, que as vezes pode ser rigoroso. Abs.
From Hermann Hesse’s Siddharta:
Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast.
—-
Perhaps this inaction that we’re talking about is the wait ?
The reason I bring this up is that inaction by itself does appear to sound pretty difficult to accept. This because if one is not on the path of action for that which one is destined to do or that one has to do then inaction does lead toward a path of some level of deterioration and decay.
yeah, though i dont call it feeling of guilt; when i dont do anything useful for awhile i feel very nervous
We went for a lovely walk in the sunny countryside – along a forest edged path that overlooks the tree lined avenue of my mother’s childhood. I love this part of the walk – the open fields of grass, the fresh smell of trees, the familiar sight of the mistletoe sprigs high on the silver birch trees.
Today my family raced ahead – but for me, I held back…
sometimes we race to reach the finish, to take a shortcut, or well trodden path…
we walk our fastest, as if racing in a competition.
the beautiful fields of gold that we gaze and marvel upon only the previous walk, we are able to canter at a frantic pace the next time on that walk.
who sets this time, schedule, timing of our lives…
when to walk, when to run….
when to stop and stare.
I REFUSED to feel guilty, though at the end of the path they all stood and waited.
why was i not with the group?
why was i walking behind… lazyly!!
these are the usual looks one can get.
but today there is no agenda…
well, except of Christ’s resurrection ;o)
and so I didn’t allow the throng to push
me on…
for here i was, on my mother’s childhood farmland..
on Easter Sunday..
and for once, I was ‘eligible’ to be “inactive”…
taking MY time, to find my pace, horizon, self, and so much
that otherwise, normally, is whipped from under our noses ;o)
being ill for over ten years has perhaps been my greatest period of inactivity EVER! however, the wisdom of it all has been to allow healing.
yet even this, inactivity in illness is greatly associated with feelings of guilt.
isn’t it a strange world !?
;o)
Yes we should not be the inactive because guilty feeling is because sin. Man should be the hard working for his life as the reward for the sin of Eden.
Although it is woman fault and she does not work hard we should forgive her to salvation.
I was raised to know that you get what you give. So inaction has never been a part of my life. There are times when I am not able to be active and when that happens, there is no guilt because I know that someone somewhere is creating action and in turn I will do the same for them. It is like the give and take of life, the tides of the seas, the phases of the moon, the seasons of the year – we all need to be involved.
cara o que é isso?! site todo em inglês, esperava no minimo duas versões!!!
Thiago, como é atualizado diariamente, e eu nao posso fazer isso com dois blogs (o outro é no G1) tive que optar por ter um em ingles. Abs
Dear Paulo, thanks for your question, Dear Savita Vega and other readers of the blog thanks for the effort you put in answering the question.
Myself, I think that the rythm of doing and pseudo ‘non-doing’ is the most important. Also focusing on present moment and on aspects which would tire us if we would not payed attention to.
My receipt for doing anything is to start from ‘zero’, then add all the elements one after another, at all times being aware of all of them. Find peace within yourself and add another element if necessary. After doing so i have had many perfect days – i have done many things, but i haven’t got tired at all. I think, the key is to do what we really need for our happiness and when we are doing so, to keep the rythm.
All the best.
Olá Paulo,
estou apenas escrevendo para desejar uma Feliz Páscoa para voce e todos do Blog, abraços grandes!
I don’t feel guilty by what I’m doing or refuse to do. The reason for doing or not doing is irrelevant, in the end it still exists.
Life tends to unfold when there is nothing left to do other than wait. It’s when you see, feel, know the most, when you have no choice but to stop.
The Spirit has different requests and demands, at times it asks that you run and other times it demands that you stand still. I’ve learned the importance of being delighted in both places without loosing sight of the rarest of gifts, life.
Ely Nunez
http://www.elynunezblog.com
Excellent subject. I was also an addict of constant motion and the need to always be doing something as many of you have stated. It has taken much time and effort to learn to enjoy inaction. My process normally starts with listening to the thoughts the cross my mind and watching for those that are negative. Training myself to catch the negative thoughts and channel them has taken a few years. This idea is not mine and I must give credit to books written by master Eckhart Tolle, Anthony Demelo, and the Dalai Lama as well as the book that help me look beyond; The Alchemist.
For a period of time, people called me lazy, because i didnt show them a lot of movement. But i’ve realized that doing so, i got away of my dream. So nowadays i am trying most to do it as a warrior of the light.
thanks Paulo.
When we do nothing,we either allow life or God to take care of the day for us, extend the effect of the past action(action right before doing nothing), or wait for the right moment to do the intended action.
I spend these moments on waiting for the right moment to act. because when you pity yourself for being a useless person, you achieve nothing right after doing this nothing. When you wait for the right moment to act, you wait for the opportunity to write the next part of your story–meaning to do something sensible in your life. I don’t deny that there are times when I feel the guilt, just in time to realize that I did achieve something…and that is to soothe my soul so I may have the right mind to do the next course of action right.
This is a rather different take on Inaction:
Choosing to act or not probably depends on the situation. Back in college, I can be described as a dormant student; I feared taking risks or standing up to my principles when needed. I didn’t have goals that were bigger than graduating on time; no! I loved to maintain the calm surrounding me, and avoided breaking my life’s simple routine.
Now, I am a new soul sucked in the corporate world, and my life has become one giant battlefield. I couldn’t escape from being in action all the time! There are always risks to take; situations wherein your principles are challenged. Presently I am in this unfamiliar whirldwind called office politics, and I’ve realized that too much action in this situation only makes things worse.
And now I’ve stumbled upon this discussion on inaction. Maybe I should give this a try once more. Maybe calming things down would help minimize this whirlwind.
There are two goals: One is resting enough for the body and mind to refresh themselves, and the other is the need to work to keep on living. So when you work you feel tired because you need the rest and when you rest you “feel guilty” for not working to stay alive.
both —
sometimes i feel guilty when i do nothing, specially when several pressing issues are knocking, but at other times i take conscious breaks to do nothing and just be.
while on the subject, let me share with you a secreat. u must have heard the phrase ” an idle mind is a devil’s workshop”, the secreat is that devil himself coined this, for it’s ends !!
jokes apart – one should not confuse conscious relaxataion with procastrination, former relaxes, altter fills one with guilt.
love
aditya
I think it is a disease of our times to weight the value of time by calculating the number of duties we would be capable of doing in let’s say, an hour.
Even though I immensely enjoy contemplating the silence, or staying long hours in bed (letting myself explore and be taken away by the visions created in my mind) – I do feel guilty at the moment when I have to confront the outside world, the expectations, the obligations, the deadlines . . .
When I don’t do anything meaningful in a measurable sense, I’m sometimes terrified by the speed of the rest of the world is, and I turn to imagine how behind and disoriented I’m going to be as a result of my inertia. . .
I used to feel very guilty when I wasn’t doing something when I wasn’t making any money. Now however, when I make some amount of money I sometimes feel guilty, but very rarely.
Usually there are only those small things that can make me feel this way. Like that I have to vacuum the apartment or such things.
It’s a nice feeling to have been able to release this emotion though, cause stress is a very bad condition.
When mankind serve somebody, is important to relax and enjoy the silence.
When mankinde is in a midle to nothing, is important to enjoy the silence and real life behind the noise.
It’s only when I do something I enjoy that I think of the time I waste doing nothing.
I don’t think anyone can really do NOTHING because there is always a thought in your mind, or an easy article you are reading, or even if you are just laying in your bed, you are actively resting your body, which is doing SOMETHING.
I would only feel guilty if I am laying in bed when there are other things I should be doing. Otherwise, I think it is OK to take time off.
Inaction depends on the cause. If it is to be patient and from being wise then no you should never feel guilty and I don’t believe those indivduals would because they know their course. If it is from fear or laziness or from excuses then yes let the guilt take over. That might be the only motivating force to work. I speak from great experience being prone to this situation. Once the guilt takes hold then I am usually motivated into action, I am working on this, but I need this guilt.
Sometimes I do feel guilty of doing nothing but reading the paper. Other times that’t all I need to write a good poem or be in touch with myself. But it can also drive me crazyyy. Human are complicated, or maybe been a woman is simply very complicated.
Hi Paulo, Hi all,
What is “doing nothing”? Aren’t we always doing something? Sitting in a chair thinking. Lying on the beach, listening and looking at the sea and people. When we are sleeping, are we then not dreaming?The lack of physical activity does not mean that the mind or perceptive organs are still.
Discomfort, guilt, uselessness starts when you create an image of what you should be doing and you are not doing it, for whatever reason.
In our society it is expected that you are active in a way that is measurable. Work hard, play sports, particpate in clubs, social activities etc.
For example, when a person loses his/her job, it is most likely that a feeling of desperation and insecurity kicks in. The feeling, anxiousness of “Oh my God, now what?” creates a strong inbalance in emotional wellbeing and makes you forget that you as a spirit, energy, person are already complete, whole. Your life routine has suddenly stopped and you might have the deisre to find a new routine and security. The result of this inbalance is stress and a strong focus to find a new job to pay the bills, support the family, pay for the holiday etc. Of course this feeling is very understandable, as you are conditioned and expected to do this.
In this case, doing nothing or not succeeding in what you are doing might give you the feeling of uselesness, not being respected by your surroundings and creates a lot of negative energy.
Who critizes you when you go on a “deserved” holiday after working months of 12 hr days? Few people do.
Taking a sabbatical, expand your horizons, live life in a different way, not many people tolerate or understand/respect that for all kinds of negative emotions/feelings.
Sometimes I wonder, do we only feel alive when we are in stress? Do we only feel alive when we are focussed on the past and future?
Why don’t we live in the present, that is all that we have and that is all that we will get.
Now I really have to do something, I am thirsty.
With love,
Selwyn
If you have the desire to particpate in this society, it is then necessary to play by it’s rules.
Doing nothing when you should do something results in discomfort and not having peace of mind and causes a feeling of guilt and weakness.
I can’t be inactive. I am a person who knows when she should stop and yet she doesn’t. I relax actively :)
There are moments when I say to myself ‘tomorrow I’ll do nothing, I’ll just sit and relax or have a walk’. Well, all it takes is a good night sleep and the next day here I am doing a thousand things without stopping.
I believe in inaction of the type ‘wait until there’s a better moment to act’ when life forces you, sometimes, to be a strategical person. That’s the only moment when I stop and wait.
As a conclusion, action is as air to me, mental action, physical action…all come hand in hand. Sometimes one has to choose the proper moment to act and yet I do not believe in inactivity at 100%. We are what we are and the world is what it is just because we act.
Inaction is the fertile soil of the soul, on which much from within can grow.A moment will come when it is meant to come,opportunity will knock and a path will be shown when the time for it comes.We are part of a bigger plan and the author is god–we are meant to accept and live ineach moment the best we can.Inaction is when the soul the inner being in us gets into action and so its a very important part of our lifes plan for us.It allows us that moment just to be-with ourselves and heighten our souls senses.So no I am not either guilty or preturbed by inaction.The best thoughts,ideas and paths have opened up for me when I have been in,Inaction,Love to all.Sujata
Well, you asked whether I feel guilty when doing nothing. Yes, I almost always do. Unless you give me a book, but that, in fact, is also doing something.
But I am very well aware that doing nothing, is doing something very necessary. Doing nothing is emptying your head, creating space for new experiences and thoughts, searchig for balance in your life. I need it, we all need it. But although I am aware of this, I often feel quilty, there is so much to be done in this world, in the household, at work, in your relations with others etc.
But give me a book. I read ten sentences and I start dreaming and…. learning. It is not the story, it is all about the behaviour and feelings of the characters in the book. And than I search for recognition: who am I? That’s why I love your books and website so much.
In a few weeks I will spend a few days in the mountains in Switzerland. To do nothing. Lucky me! One day before we will depart, your new book will be published in the Netherlands. This promisses me a lot of doing nothing. Which means doing quite a lot.
hi.. inaction is a word which can only be felt.. its just like when you are walking on a very difficult trajectory.. you stumble.. you had the confidence that you could walk everywhere and that one stumble hasn’t tossed you.. you shrug and start again.. you stumble again and it hurts now.. you look perplexed smiling for your own foolishness or appreciating the trajectory or the sturdiness of the path.. may be you wait or try again and again and stumble again and again.. you think and you stumble.. you stand and find yourself at the foolish task you are doing.. you might break your confidence and might not return your trying.. you might sit, think, make a plan and analyse the path.. work with extra details now.. may be the world is moving forward.. you might be frustrated.. if in the end, you cant move.. all this is inaction.. if you can its being winner..
so according to me inaction in not the final thing.. its related to the time frame where you are seeing the current conditions.. if they are favorable you dont say it inaction.. if after doing everything, still you are currently not moving. you might be thinking and next moments you might be winner.. but for the world your current state is inaction… and you are so bad by them.. at present only…
and yes I am “baring”this in mind.
So here to you Carol Perham and John Natoli “Prost”
to Your success.
Paulo, you are doing a great job. … I know I don’t need to tell you, you already know. still, I like to say it.
Love
I had an interesting experience to day.
I went to a painting exhibition – It was called “Bare” It was held by two friends who share a passion for painting. Each one describing it so beautifully, I had tears in my eyes as I was reading about the artists. I saw so much in those paintings – things I would have never noticed before –
I appreciate the insight from this blog about paintings and I want to thank you for that Paulo.
My world is expanding.
It is so good to see so much talent, especially coming from young people.
Out of the 64 paintings they had they sold quite a lot of them.
Love
I feel guilt every time, but I understand that my happiness or unhappiness is not depends on my activity or inactivity. I don’t need do something for my enjoy. My heart and my God – it is enough for everything. But I want to do something for other people. I don’t know why, but if I am happy and not GIVING HAPPY, I feel some guilt.
Dear Paulo,
My colleague and friend who is supposed to start his pilgrimage soon to Santiago do Compostella is encountering problems with one knee. The docter told him to rest and do nothing because otherwise it will not heal. He is not certain whether he will be able to do the full pilgrimage. I was talking to him today and we were discussing how odd it is to not do anything and not to think about what should be done still. The intersting thing was that we ended our conversation by concluding that his journey had actually already begun but just not in the way he expected.
forte abraco
Do
I have felt both – I feel guilt when doing nothing knowing I have something to do, something i want to do, but decide to retreat in nothingness because taking that chance of doing that thing I truly want to do and failing at it seems to be a painful thought I allow to paralize myself into rational hesitation later leading to inaction. On the other hand, I have enjoyed the days of doing nothing only after having a few days of feverishly pursuing a dream of mine, those are the days of nothing I enjoy the most…
Thanks Paul.Nice to see you are fine,and good humored.Means your pilgrimage is going well,I guess.Take care,bye
Hello. Well, as strange as it is, your topic is right on the dot! Past couple days I’ve been thinking a lot about my life and I noticed that the same thing has been happening to me, and I am sure it is not a coincedence. All the best things that happened to me actually happened when I stopped trying to reach them. The moments when I was just giving myself a break and thought of it as a time to discover myself again. This moment were great. Sometimes life needs you to take an action and you do. But do it with joy and never look back. Sometimes the same life is just cutting you some slack to catch up with what you have missed. Take it and enjoy, because, well, it might not last very long !!! :)
Thank you Paulo! U’re the man!
My experience tells me that looking at life through the fearless self-confidence of peace, instead of the stressful self-doubt of fear is what brings you “luck.” The great American psychiatrist, Karl Menninger, said “Attitude is more important than facts.” Viktor Frankl, the father of Existential Psychology, is living proof of that. He was a Holocaust survivor. It doesn’t get worse than Auschwitz. He said it was attitude that often determined who survived that horror and who didn’t. “The last of human freedoms,” he said, “is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.” Frankl said that attitude gives us the power to make a victory of difficult circumstances, turning life into an inner triumph. He said that even in the face of the Nazi’s brutality and deprivation it was possible for one’s spiritual life to deepen.
solvet et coagula
i don’t feel guilty when i relax.it clears the mind. but sometimes it gets prolonged a bit too much and i get lazy and i tend to ignore ‘my moment to act’.And thats the time i feel guilty and angry with myself and then tend to waste even more time!! if i could have a stronger will and not be lazy, nothing could be better than a nice break or a period of complete inactivity.
Just this week I was faced with a situation wherein I firmly decided “not to take action,” and I must admit that, although I am certain I made the right decision, I am still feeling a twinge of guilt about it.
I stopped at the post office in a small town nearby, to mail a letter (small town? ha! more of a cross-roads really). When I drove up, there was a dog in the parking lot, and I could see immediately that it had been abandoned. (The post office is a common “dumping spot” for unwanted animals.) I stepped out of my truck and called the dog over to me. He came, wagging his tale, but it was obvious that he was nervous, confused, lost. Every car that drove by, he would look up, as though hoping it were his owner’s car, returned to fetch him from this scary, unfamiliar place. I felt bad for him. I turned back to the front seat of my truck and drew out a package of Jack Link’s beef jerky (my favorite snack) – $5 a bag for a mere three and a half ounces: it wouldn’t fill him up, but at least it might make him feel a little less unwanted.
As he devoured the jerky, I went inside to mail my letter. When I came back out, he was sitting beside the door of my truck, wagging his tail anxiously. Meanwhile, my dog, Spike, an American Staffordshire, was sitting in the driver’s seat, peering out the window, looking rather worried, evidently more than a little jealous of this new-comer who had just eaten all the jerky.
There was a time, not so very long ago, when I would not pass up a stray dog, regardless of the circumstances. If I was all dressed up to go out, I would pick up the dog anyway, even if it soiled my best dress, and put it in the front seat with me if I had to. If I was going somewhere, I would simply change my plans to accommodate. And if picking up a stay dog meant that I was going to be late for an appointment, then so be – I would just be late or, otherwise, miss it completely if I had to.
But then something happened. One day my dog, Spike, got sick, and I didn’t have the money to take him to the vet because I had spent all the money I had and more on feeding all the stray dogs I had picked up. Spike, too, was a “hard luck” case – I adopted him from a local rescue society, after he was seized in a police raid on a dog-fighting establishment. Since then, however, he has become not only the “leader of the pack,” but also my favorite among many. “Spike, love-of-my-life,” I call him. Meanwhile the adoring epithet my daughter employs is: “Spike, The King.” He was also the first among many – the first dog we adopted. For this reason, if for no other, I feel I have a certain responsibility to him that now supercedes the needs of any new dog that I encounter. Spike went to the vet, finally, and it was discovered that he has acute food allergies. This means that he can only eat this one particular brand and very expensive brand of dog food. With the money I spend on Spike, I could feed five dogs. But Spike was here first.
The thing I realized when I was finally forced to make a choice – the choice between helping the dogs I’ve already rescued, and rescuing still more – is that sometimes, like it or not, we have to face the reality that our resources are limited. When we act as though they are not, we may not be doing anyone a favor. In fact, we might actually be putting ourselves in a position where we will be less able to help those who already count on us.
So, when I saw this stray dog at the post office, I made the choice “not to act” – it was a difficult choice emotionally, but it was a clear choice. Afterward, in reflecting upon the event, I concluded that perhaps it is not always our place to act. If I see a person begging on the street, I will still always give them my last dollar, if it is my last. In the same way, I gave that dog my five-dollar bag of beef jerky. The dollar is there in my pocket, the jerky is there in my front seat, so I give it. Another dollar will come to replace it – even if it is my last, and I cannot see where the next is coming from. But that is quite different from adopting an ongoing responsibility that one may or may not be in a position to uphold.
So, this was an incident where I chose the path of inaction, and although I did still feel a twinge of guilt about it when I started writing this, I realize now that I have also learned a great lesson from this experience. Perhaps it is not always my duty to act as “savior” to every abandoned pet that crosses my path. Perhaps someone else will come along, someone better equipped than I am – perhaps they already have – to take that dog home to a place where he will be their only pet, the center of all their attention, and where he will receive all the love and care he needs and deserves.
I don’t feel guilty when I am physically inactive but I do feel guilty when I am mentally inactive meaning I don’t do anything positive with my mind. It probably comes from the fact that for a long time I was trying to meditate on death and precious human life and now if I don’t work on my mind for a while I feel that I will regret it at the time of my death. But at the same time I think that it is so important to be able to relax even with our spiritual training. We can only carry on if we take breaks otherwise we will quickly burn out. But as usual the trick is to keep the balance because sometimes if we prolong the break we can get really lazy.
when we are emotinally thrown between two opposing poles of a life changing decision……..as I am right now……I feel trapped by paralysis. I know deep down perhaps what road i should take, but as I push towards that decision which has life changing implications not just for me, but others around me…..my clarity gets overcome with fear and ‘what if’s’….the bad times and the feelings of lifelessness that i have experineced for so long…all of a sudden are obscured by….’it wasn’t that bad after all….maybe you should stay…better the devil you know!!!”But I have so often, for years, screamed to be released from just existing in my life, compramising things that are important, to wanting to live my life alive…..but the inaction brough on by fear makes that so hard……the above situation is on wanting to leave a long term relationship… (including my son who adores me and I him)……………inspiration please I am causing so many more problems by inaction……
Inaction = Letargo for me
Inaction is a big test to be taken when you have been used to act in order to feel alive! but sometimes quiet times have to be experienced to leave our thoughts to re shape and then act accordingly. This is hard!
I feel empty when I see my day going away without having something to pick up as a result but it is better to consider when to act and therefore when to risk if that was the case.
I think you could enjoy and may be relax but there is something inside your head still asking you to react! if you can switch off of that completely that would be ideal!
Inaction? The term alone send me into a guilt infused frenzy. I am the creator of inaction and idleness. Okay, perhaps was is a fitting participle, seeing that I am now on a mission to rekindling with my inner- child. And I must say, there is nothing idle about that. On the 03rd of April 2009, I acted out a scene I had been rehearsing for quite some time in my head- I left a dead-end job after three years of servitude & no other prospects of career development, I finally called it quits. For starters, I knew, three weeks into the job that it was not for me ,now try to imagine having to feign composure for three harrowing years? I was finished. And the irony of it all is that it took me a week of “inaction” to eventually tap into my reserves and unleash the spirit that I had almost suffocated to death years ago.
Was I doing it because I am a product of the ‘social- conditioning’ that we’re cultured to abide by through-out our lives; one that snubs those amongst us who are brave enough to look beyond the frailties our inabilities and sojourn with the core belief that there is a cause bigger than all of humankind to undertake and be a part of? Yes. I was afraid to be myself because in all honesty, being me entails a lot of work and I didn’t think I had it within me to actually play me. How weird ha? I was terrified of attempting to show love for myself in public, for the sole purpose of not having to have the spotlight shone on me for all to see and criticize. Unfortunately, I ended up being the subject of scrutiny because I was living my life like I’d borrowed it from someone who was also doing a horrible rendition of someone else’.
Now, I’m riding on three things to see me through during my unemployed episode; my God-given talents & gifts, an idea and an insatiable passion for living out m passion as intended by God. Whether I understand that is something I am yet to see, for it is rather difficult when you kind of view yourself in comparison to others who are so much better than you in every way imaginable.Yes, it’s a matter of using other people’s mirror to look at yourself and it might be good, but in my case it is excruciatingly futile to compare myself with anyone because, I am only 1.66 m tall, am extremely ugly with unsightly scars on my face and body. I have cellulite and crooked teeth, my breasts are drooping like dog ears and I have a weight-control deficiency. I don’t know how to accept my flaws but I think, in the midst of all of this, I am not that bad. At least I have talents and maybe if I can utilize the, they can be both cathartic and healing. Perhaps I should do that.
And on that inactive note, I think being able to allow oneself time to reflect on their lives, is as necessary a process as getting to a level where you lock in with your purpose and begin to gravitate towards achieving that.
I used to feel guilty but now I love the freedom of doing nothing. Doing comes from being and when I’m doing nothing it’s a chance to simply be.
Endlessly doing is a very good way of avoiding this beautiful experience.
Best wishes
Rebecca
Olá :)
Waiting for the new book to be released in Sweden! I hope it will be here soon!
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