Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity. Ours is a culture that measures our worth as human beings by our efficiency, our earnings, our ability to perform this or that. The cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that makes life worth living.
Interpretation
Being present in the moment is more valuable than simply being productive.
Maria Popova's quote emphasizes the importance of presence over mere productivity in our lives. It critiques a culture that equates human worth with efficiency and output, suggesting that this obsession with productivity can detract from our ability to experience joy and wonder in life, which are essential for a fulfilling existence.
In practice
During a mindfulness workshop, when discussing the importance of living in the moment.
Our chronic discomfort with ambiguity - which, ironically, is critical to both our creativity and the richness of our lives - leads us to lock down safe, comfortable, familiar interpretations, even if they are only partial representations of or fully disconnected from reality.
Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity.
Of all the islands he'd visited, two stood out. The island of the past, he said, where the only time was past time and the inhabitants were bored and more or less happy, but where the weight of illusion was so great that the island sank a little deeper into the river every day. And the island of the future, where the only time was the future, and the inhabitants were planners and strivers, such strivers, said Ulises, that they were likely to end up devouring one another.
Bad evangelism says: I'm right, you're wrong, and I would love to tell you about it
Anarchists try to identify power structures. They urge those exercising power to justify themselves. This justification does not succeed most of the time.
Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour.
The entire cosmos is a cooperative. The sun, the moon, and the stars live together as a cooperative. The same is true for humans and animals, trees, and the Earth. When we realize that the world is a mutual, interdependent, cooperative enterprise -- then we can build a noble environment. If our lives are not based on this truth, then we shall perish.
Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.
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