Temperance and Steadiness

“The bigger the head the bigger the headaches.” – Cameroonian proverb

“The high value put upon every minute of time, the idea of hurry-hurry as the most important objective of living, is unquestionably the most dangerous enemy of joy;” Hermann Hesse chided in his 1905 essay titled “On Little Joys.” Sadly, a hundred plus years after his admonishment, humanity has not made any improvement about busyness.

It is probably worse in our time, where being busy has become the chief performance of our survival. We are so charged about chasing our “dreams,” and making impressions that we scarce even stop to breathe.

Life indeed has become a rollercoaster, the faster the pace, the more excitement it generates and the more we get addicted to it. The morbid pursuit of ‘success’ is pressurizing us to achieve the greatest possibilities, in the fastest possible time. This aggressive haste has not only affected our way of doing, but also our being as well.

It has engulfed us with a corroding obligation for ‘doing’ at the cost of ‘being.’ Living has become a series of doings. We must do this, do that, and afterwards do something else. Even leisure has evolved into a ‘to-do list.’ We are in so much of a hurry, we do not want life to simply happen. Everything must be controlled like the path of a dam.

And we have become so busy, there is practically no time to breathe. It is about time we realise that busyness has become a self-inflicted malady. It has more resemblance to zealotry than advancement.

Did you know life would simply happen if you do not twerk it? Sadly, the concept of being busy has led many of us to complicate the things of life. We are so influenced by what we have to do, than who we are. We hardly notice anything, unless it is related to ‘doing.’ Our brains are constantly being used to perform duties. We do not allow them to rest, neither do we use them to learn new things.

We have turned them into task oriented functionaries. Thus we have lost the ability to appreciate the little things that make us joyous. Our senses are only attuned to what is advertised, or the things that cost money. If it does, we place more value on being happy than on being joyous.

With all due respect, we need to appreciate that life is a basketful of unlimited possibilities. If you even manage to do all that is possibly, there would still be more than enough possibilities that you cannot even start to think about, much more make the effort to do something about it.

The ability to live entails much more than simply hurrying and doing. We need to learn to slow down often times and “cherish;” the moments and each other. We have to become aware of the scent of the airs around us, the shades of lighting bouncing of the different surfaces. We need to learn to contemplate our environments and gradually allow ourselves to absorb the small delights floating around us.

To do all that, we have to learn to live in moderation. As Iveta Cherneva put it, “everything is good in moderation. Even moderation” itself. And we should not make moderation a thing of trends, which comes into vogue because some individuals determine it is the new ‘craze.’ When that happens, we will inflate it for a while, and then deflate it, when the season passes.

We must learn to see the precious things without losing a minute of our time. As summed up by Annie Dillard, “the man who for the first time picks a small flower so that he can have it near him while he works has taken a step toward joy in life.”

The capacity to treasure the moments and the little things is intimately connected with the habit of moderation. We must learn to appreciate every moment. We could start with driving without texting.

And in our interactions, we should have the courage to enjoy another person’s company without letting our mobile phones distract our conversations. In some circles, that would mean having the courage not to be trendy. Sometimes we become objects of ridicule for not appearing trendy.

But what is the point of wearing the most in-vogue clothing, and spewing out the grooviest trash? Let us learn to content ourselves with not trying to do everything presented to us. We will be amazed at how richly rewarding this small sacrifice of letting go will be for us.

Many of us strive to work hard with thoughts of being able to enjoy the fruits of our labour later in life.

Sadly, we become so used to working so hard, that even taking time off for leisure becomes a challenge. It is even made worse when we retire at the end of a day after completing all our tasks and yet we feel incomplete.

Some of us are so worked up, that we have lost our measure of cheerfulness. It is time to rewire our spirits to seek out of each day, not only the tasks but also all the delightfulness that sprinkles itself along our paths to and from work.

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Kodwo Brumpon is an author, a life coach and a philanthropist who inspires individuals, groups and organisations to think and feel that which is true, by helping them to positively respond to that which is beautiful is, whilst nudging them to let goodness govern their actions.

Comments, suggestions and requests should be sent to him at kodwobrumpon@gmail.com