Do Less
What happens if we do less?
We live in a world where agnosticism is pragmatic. Success has been defined as financial prosperity, the level of degree attained, or who has the most shiny Instagram account. Science must validate everything to be valid, but science continually disproves itself. Why else would we continue to question, observe, and test?
I was raised to work hard, be a good girl, support myself, and betray myself. Consumption was a theme of the 80s and 90s. Whenever I think of the Little Mermaid and the treasures she collected, I can see where we, as the North American middle class, placed value.
I went to school, got the degree, climbed the ladder, married, reproduced, and bought the farm. This all happened so fast that I wasn’t intentional about most of it because my wounding was leading the charge. However, through years of observation and realization of the responsibility I created in my life, I've learned that ease and grace come from not producing.
When I take time away from my business, it thrives. When I hustle, I’m creating the very resistance to the open flow of energy that I’m trying to avoid. Social media is so out of my alignment, yet I haven’t dropped it because there’s still this lingering question of what might happen if I did. Owning retail and service businesses where people need to know you exist makes it feel essential.
And I know better than to work outside of what aligns. I know better than to not fly on the wings of faith because true surrender is a trust fall.
The sages would recommend watching what happens when we let life unfold. In recent years, my biggest lesson has been to slow down. I have much greater success creating the life I want to live when I take the time to simplify and turn inward than when I’m out sharing myself, no matter how authentically. I am more available when discernible and practicing healthy boundaries.
My favorite teacher, Caroline Myss, says, ‘ Sometimes God’s greatest gift is to keep you hidden.’
Is it not every one of our responsibilities to practice the word no? Whether that’s standing up to unrealistic work timelines or overbooking our social calendar, why do we feel more obligated to show up for the physical world than we do our spiritual one?
I recently heard that a person in the 1800s would consume as much information in a lifetime as is available in a Wednesday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal. Now, whether that’s even close to accurate, it’s clear that our level of consumption, through all avenues, has reached titanic proportions.
In a world ravaged by war and us saying we seek peace, what are we doing to make that happen? If what we see is what we’ve created from within, does the war in our world reflect the war within us that can be identified and healed?
We’re not going to find that by producing without conscience.
“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach — waiting for a gift from the sea.”
― Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea
