Rest the Restless

“He who hurries through life hastens toward death.” — Seneca

The Obstacle

We’ve always been restless.
There’s constantly more to do.
We can’t sit still.
We can’t sit down.

We need to be busy.
We need to accomplish more.
The more we do, the more we live.

It’s hard to deeply connect.
We want to be everywhere,
so we don’t end up being present anywhere, really.

We can be right here next to you and so far away.

We’re pulled from one thing to the next.
Distracted easily.
Everything feels urgent.

We can’t sit still.
We need to be busy.
We can’t sit down.
Can’t sit down.
Can’t sit down.

There has to be something else to do.
There’s always more to be done.

We’ll rest when we’re dead.

The Restless will not rest…

The Gift and Opportunity

The Restless Can Be Haunted or Harnessed

Restless energy can haunt us
Or it can be harnessed.

Left unchecked, it becomes
A destructive force
Robs us of the ability to be fully present
It pulls us from moment to moment
Task to task
Person to person
Leaving nothing fully lived or deeply felt.

That same energy can be used to focus on
Exactly where we are
Who we’re with
What we are doing.

Harnessing the Restless does not mean giving up the energy.
It means giving up the distraction.
Refusing to give in to what feels urgent but isn’t essential.

It means understanding the price to pay for what’s calling.

The energy will always be there.
The will.
Drive.
Creativity.
The fun-loving nature.

None of that has to disappear.
What changes is our relationship to it.
Where we direct it.

We can choose to be present
If we know how to look out for the Restless
To know the lies it promises.

The restless pulls us away
From what’s right in front of us
For the promise of more…
Only to deliver a hollow dopamine hit.

Learn its voice.
Recognize its patterns.
Master when and where it pull us.

When it shows up
Redirect that same energy into being fully present
Right where we are. 

It’s a choice.
Be less Restless.

The Practice of Self-Mastery

• Notice restlessness before it pulls you away.
  Not after you’ve already left the room, the moment, or the person.

• Separate energy from urgency.
  Energy is useful. Urgency is often a lie.

• Know the promise of “more” as a lie.

• Deliberately choose presence. Be where you are.
  Where you are.
  Who you’re with.
  What you’re doing.
  
  CHEAT CODE: NOTICE THE PULL → DENY THE URGENCY → REDIRECT THE ENERGY → BE HERE → STAY