Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that being truly present in the moment is more valuable and complex than simply being productive.
Maria Popova emphasizes the importance of presence over productivity, highlighting that the ability to engage fully in the moment requires more skill and nuance than just focusing on achieving tasks. It suggests that real fulfillment and richness in life come from being aware and attentive to our experiences rather than rushing through them to complete a checklist of activities.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a mindfulness workshop to emphasize the value of being present.
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.
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.
Self-portraiture is something one should never get involved in, since it is wrong to lie even though one endeavours to tell the truth.
Acting... was the biggest charge I ever had. What other artist has it so good? Approval so quick?
You photograph with all your ideology.
Each of his phrases was rather like a little ancient island, inundated by a miniature sea of whiskey.
It's always a nice feeling, having people think that you feel things much deeper than you're allowed to say, but this isn't true. If you want to find out what a writer or a cartoonist really feels, look at his work. That's enough.
The two things you can't fake are good food and good music
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