by Sifu
Markus Kahila

We live in the culture of doing. We're encouraged to be active, to act and to pursue, and are offered the freedom to seek objectives worth aiming for. If we wish to act effectively, we must find an orientation; if we wish find the best orientation, we must be educated; if we wish to be educated well, we must do.

Doing often has the stigma close to that of manual labor - it seems to be regarded much like digging a ditch, i.e. result through repetition. However, repetition itself rarely has much value; every action needs a direction, one which we have to come up with ourselves. Our greatest tool in all doing is the mind.

Isn't it surprising, then, how often the mind - an invaluable instrument that ought to be maintained, cared for and cultivated - ends up being neglected?

Don't get me wrong; fittingly for the culture of doing, we are instructed to do many things for our minds. Brain gymnastics and abstractive thinking are promoted by practically all modern health handbooks. Engage in hobbies, act, think. Keep the mind going so it won't stop - after all, rolling stone gathers no moss, right?

But how on earth do we calm our minds?

Stress has become an inseparable part of the western lifestyle. In the EU from 1995 to 2005, stress and exhaustion were intimately involved with over a half of all the workers health problems, and according to recent research in the US 40% of the workforce regarded their jobs as extremely stressful.

But does it have to be like this? Let's take an analogy: Consider if you were engaged in active, demanding physical exercise from hour to hour, day to day, year to year - without stopping. How long do you think your body could take it?

In this regard, the mind is not that different. I once had a discussion with a consultant about the practice of meditation, and he found the idea of not thinking outlandish. Can such a thing even be done?

This is how used our minds are to constant work.

In reality, there is nothing impossible or marvellous about calming the mind. It is a natural skill, one which many adults are actively trying to rid themselves of - often without realizing it. Instead of calming the mind, we try to find shortcuts to relaxation through television or a glass of wine after work, hoping that this might trick the mind to quiet down. In practice, by doing this we merely substitute one work with another.

Second common misconception is that not thinking makes us inefficent or dulls the mind. This is a lot of nonsense. Let's look at this claim through another analogy: Which do you think helps start a workday more efficently: A messy desk with your tasks piled on top of each other, or an empty desk where you can concenrate on your most important assigment right off the bat?

I've enjoyed immensely starting my workdays just by sitting relaxed in a comfortable, upright position, eyes closed. That's it. I don't think about the job ahead, about the ongoing challenges of my work, or what possible problems may wait around the corner. I don't think whether or not I should've had a roll instead of a ham sandwhich for breakfast, or maybe just a cup of tea. I just sit and enjoy myself for a few minutes. It is amazing how much a big, positive contribution this simple practice has had to my work efficency and enjoyment.

Similarly the work can be left at the workplace at the end of the day - if you can calm your mind, it is actually very simple. It is too tough a job to carry your workload home, your domestic challenges to work, and to juggle both in your head during your free time. Sooner or later in becomes inevitable to learn to put your baggage down. Otherwise, your health will most probably do it for you.

"Easier said than done" is an understandable first reaction for many. However, the problem is not the challenge of the task, nor even the lack of tools - there are many available methods for calming the mind, varying in purpose and efficency. The problem is rather the lack of right effort, or in the worst case, maintaining harmful misconceptions such as "stress helps peak performance" or "it's a part of the job". It most definitely is not.

There's no harm in stopping. Sometimes it may save lives.