There is a very interesting book that I read about a year ago, written by a former priest. It is called, STOPPING. The theme is straightforward. Most of us are so busy rushing from task to task, problem to problem, that we never take the time to fully question the patterns in which we are stuck. So, many feel discontented, somewhat sad and melancholic, without knowing the cause. What we do recognize, at least tacitly, is we are not fulfilled. The authors suggestion for addressing this problem is STOPPING. In the psychedelic 60s and 70s, it was the third part of Dr. Timothy Learys prescription to Turn on, Tune In, and Drop Out. Taoists say it this way: Practice NOT doing, and everything will fall into place. This isnt easy, if only for the reason that we fear that if our worlds stop spinning, well fall off, into a vacuum, into infinite space. Its like people who live with trains going by so often, that when they go on vacation, they cant relax because there are no trains going by! Perhaps the hardest thing to stop is a life at which were only marginally successful. With partial success, we have to keep working hard, and against our instincts, to derive minimal rewards. The once obese exercise nut feels he has to obsessively work out to maintain his new shape; and even a slight relaxing of his discipline will spell disaster. If he STOPPED, he might get quiet enough to tune into the reason he does anything compulsively, whether its eating or exercising, and he might hear the inner voice telling him: Youre not good enough, the way you are! STOPPED, he might look deeper and realize this isnt his voice at all. Its the voice of a parent, a teacher, a lover or someone else who made him doubt his self-worth, and hooked him on receiving approval from others. In other words, he might really understand the cycle of despair that hes in, explore it fully, and return to a full calendar of activity that is based on truer wants and needs; ones that he has chosen. STOPPING, in this sense, may be the best method for getting ahead! |
