Hustle culture versus resting

Hustle culture versus resting

Mark 6:30-34. Come away and rest awhile.

Music cannot be without rest. The stops or the breaks help heighten the emotional impact of bridges and the final chorus.

The basketball player who only knows sprints are predictable, compared with those who use rest, fakes, and tempo strategically. Athletes need rest after strenuous trainings.

Rest and slack are needed to incubate creative insights.

These examples make our fascination with ruthless efficiency and productivity perplexing: why do we glorify hustling so much? Why should we feel guilty about resting?

The relevant virtues are temperance, stillness, centeredness, being at peace; neither extreme pleasure nor extreme pain. Discerning when enough is enough is a life skill in this day when hustle culture is being endorsed by rockstar entrepreneurs, billionnaires, and Shark Tank investors.

The lazy Snorlax avoids races, the proud rabbit is either in a suicide mission to win a single race or feeling complacent so as to lose a race it should have won; but the disciplined and serene turtle marches at its own pace, winning the marathon of life on its own terms.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 36: FEBRUARY 5, 2022]