The paradoxical benefits of subtraction
Our culture is all about addition. If you’re sick add a medicine to cure you. If you’re depressed add an activity that will cheer you up. If you’re anxious add a bunch of precautions to make you feel safe. We’re in a constant mode of frantic addition.
What has gotten lost is the ancient art of being. Being is healing, it’s liberating and safe.
The purest form of getting back to being is meditation in its various forms. Meditation is not an act of doing or adding, although many people misunderstand it as such. It’s not another lifestyle hack.
Another way to get back to being is to subtract.
Instead of taking medicine to cope with your symptoms, subtract bad habits from your life to cure their causes.
Instead of doing the 100th thing to optimize for a productive day, rest for a moment and decide what you actually want to do with your time.
Instead of saying more, say less and create room for a more profound relationship.
Instead of adding, try, from time to time, to subtract.
