We live in a culture of busyness. Busyness permeates our lives. To be busy is a badge of honor. To be bored is a sign of weakness. We scurry about here and there, anxious to work. Our screens stay with us everywhere we go. There is no excuse not to be busy.
We live in a culture of efficiency. We fill our calendars from the moment we are awake to the moment we go to sleep. Our minds race from task to task. We try to squeeze every last bit of juice out of the lemon of time. We fear that if we slow down, we will be worthless.
We live in a culture of achievement. We set goals. We have dreams. We see achievement everywhere. Anytime we go online, others bombard us with their achievements, which only magnifies our insecurities. We fear that we are not enough. We fear that we are unworthy of love.
Our culture blinds us. We think this is normal. We judge others by our culture. We judge ourselves by our culture. But if we zoom out, if we step outside of our time to another century, if we step outside of our nation to another country, if we step outside of our beliefs to another perspective, we see a different picture.
Homo sapiens are animals. No other species strives for busyness, efficiency, and achievement like humans do. In no other time in human history has there been such a frantic striving for meaning and purpose. Our culture breeds stress. Our culture breeds anxiety. Our culture breeds depression.
A cultural revolution is long overdue. The current state of affairs is not sustainable. Our collective mental health is declining. Our environment is heading toward catastrophe. Our weapons are growing more and more destructive. Our morality is atrophying. Our world is more interconnected than ever before and destruction spreads faster than it has ever spread.
What can we do? We can look within. Our culture has power as long as we give it power. But we are programmed by our culture. It is our default programming. It is our status quo. We cannot change without gaining awareness. Our culture is to us as water is to fish. Is a fish even aware that it swims in water?
Before we can shift our culture, we must first understand that we unconsciously adopt most of its beliefs. We must question our beliefs. We must unlearn what we have taken for granted our entire lives. It is uncomfortable to ask questions that challenge cultural norms. What if busyness isn’t a virtue? What if efficiency isn’t a virtue? What if achievement isn’t a virtue?
What if it is ok to be bored? What if it is ok to be inefficient? What if it is ok to not achieve? What if it is ok to slow down? What if it is ok to relax? What if it is ok to not do anything? What if it is ok to just be? What if we are worthy exactly as we are?
