What Matters
“I don’t want much, fuck, I drove every car/…Some nice cooked food, some nice clean drawers” – JAY Z [Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)]
Last week, I was two number line points away from DMX levels of aggression.
I snapped at everything and everyone. It wasn’t even possible to hide it.
I mean, you can smell an angry person even through the words they type on social media. You don’t even need a physical confrontation with them.
I was sick and stressed.
For someone who usually goes four or five years without needing to take medication, things like this grind you to a halt.
It’s a subtle reminder of our mortality.
It’s a prompt from the universe asking you to slow down and take a breather.
Things like these are the traffic lights of life. Red – Stop. Yellow – Proceed with caution. Green – Go.
If only we could learn to rest at green sometimes, and not wait till yellow, or in the worst case scenario, red.
But we are driven by a productivity obsessed culture. I’m pretty productivity obsessed as an individual.
Every time I turned on my bed, my mind would run to what I should be doing or a project I could have completed if I was working.
As much as, it is important for a man’s mental, emotional, and physical states that he does something productive with his time and life, work is not everything.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?” – Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 KJV
The above Bible verse is the premise on which the first chapter of Ecclesiastes and possibly the whole book is written. And it rings true, especially in these perilous times.
Well, if everything is vanity, maybe what matters then is choosing your vanity.
There’s evidence that many ailments can be treated by just resting and slowing down. Add good sleep, food, and an exercise regimen.
But even people who are strict with their workout routines still have to rest too.
Rest is priceless.
The field of medicine, whether traditional or orthodox supports this strongly.
Many people are also one serious ailment away from poverty or total and complete financial ruin. I learnt that last week.
I also learned health and peace of mind are massively underrated.
But I had to break down before I did.
And with that, I’ve chosen my vanity.
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