Of 'Being Still' and 'Doing Nothing'
Who wants a boring life?
No, that's not a rhetorical question. I seriously want to get your response. If it were me, I certainly don't. That's why I see myself more often going online to go and 'socialize' on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I have watched videos online, I've re-blogged tumblogs about Harry Potter and whatnots, I've tweeted nearly every 'fortune cookie-able' statements I have in my head, and I've seen profiles of people I wanted to check out. Suddenly, social network has become a bore and I'm losing taste for it.
I'm not to talk about boredom. That's just to get you hooked; I hope it was successful. So before I experience Death by Boredom and Social Network, I've (finally) decided to blog again. Especially after Jackie Chan's character, Mr. Han, in The Karate Kid (2010) struck me with this statement:
"Being still and doing nothing are two different things."
While lately I thought I was 'being still' and was just simply waiting for the outcome of my stepping out in faith, I've become more a sloth and am currently 'doing nothing.' If they were really two different things, what the heck then is the difference?
I think doing nothing is being lazy. Remember the Filipino classic (or more, a cliche) Juan Tamad (Lazy John) who, in his laziness instead of climbing guava tree decided to lay at the feet of tree, opened his mouth and waited for the ripe fruit to fall into his pie-hole; or as geniuses would put it--to trust that the Law of Gravity will soon take effect.
That attitude frustrates me. I'm a 'go-get' kind of person, and I don't like it when nothing is happening to the goals I've set or the results I'm expecting (which often is mistaken as bossiness, hehe).
But this 'extended vacation' that I have has turned my attitude around. Now, I would say, "I'm gonna get it anyway," or "I have all the time in the world." And it has turned me into an unproductive home buddy which I never were back in high school and college. Ironically, I am still either too anxious or too scared of what the result of my 'waiting' would be. That's definitely not being still. That's just DOING NOTHING.
Interestingly, it's as if God is calling me out of my 'slumber' and back into activity.While there really is absolutely nothing I can do to speed up the arrival of what I'm waiting for, I sure do not have all the time in the world either--I have a month to do all that I want and then maybe hopefully get the good news I've been waiting to hear.
To counter the 'doing nothing' attitude, I will step into the 'being still' zone by occupying myself of things I actually really love to do--like writing! And I've got books piled up waiting to be read just to put oil in the rusting engine of what I call 'The Think Tank.' I'm also recently active in volunteering. Thank God for the Cinemalaya Volunteer hunt posted in Tumblr (referred by friend, Mark A. to me) and my undeniable love for the youth and music which keep me up on my toes always.
It's really a choice I had to make. 'Do I really want to do nothing, worry a lot and gain pounds while at it? Or to actually be still by keeping off the worries, getting busy and productive?' I don't know what BEING STILL means to you; to me, it means having peace that surpasses all understanding despite uncertainty or waiting. But DOING NOTHING means pretty clear--it's being PASSIVE AND LAZY. I don't want to be 'NOTHING-DOER'. Do you?
No, that's not a rhetorical question. I seriously want to get your response. If it were me, I certainly don't. That's why I see myself more often going online to go and 'socialize' on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I have watched videos online, I've re-blogged tumblogs about Harry Potter and whatnots, I've tweeted nearly every 'fortune cookie-able' statements I have in my head, and I've seen profiles of people I wanted to check out. Suddenly, social network has become a bore and I'm losing taste for it.
I'm not to talk about boredom. That's just to get you hooked; I hope it was successful. So before I experience Death by Boredom and Social Network, I've (finally) decided to blog again. Especially after Jackie Chan's character, Mr. Han, in The Karate Kid (2010) struck me with this statement:
"Being still and doing nothing are two different things."
While lately I thought I was 'being still' and was just simply waiting for the outcome of my stepping out in faith, I've become more a sloth and am currently 'doing nothing.' If they were really two different things, what the heck then is the difference?
I think doing nothing is being lazy. Remember the Filipino classic (or more, a cliche) Juan Tamad (Lazy John) who, in his laziness instead of climbing guava tree decided to lay at the feet of tree, opened his mouth and waited for the ripe fruit to fall into his pie-hole; or as geniuses would put it--to trust that the Law of Gravity will soon take effect.
That attitude frustrates me. I'm a 'go-get' kind of person, and I don't like it when nothing is happening to the goals I've set or the results I'm expecting (which often is mistaken as bossiness, hehe).
But this 'extended vacation' that I have has turned my attitude around. Now, I would say, "I'm gonna get it anyway," or "I have all the time in the world." And it has turned me into an unproductive home buddy which I never were back in high school and college. Ironically, I am still either too anxious or too scared of what the result of my 'waiting' would be. That's definitely not being still. That's just DOING NOTHING.
Interestingly, it's as if God is calling me out of my 'slumber' and back into activity.While there really is absolutely nothing I can do to speed up the arrival of what I'm waiting for, I sure do not have all the time in the world either--I have a month to do all that I want and then maybe hopefully get the good news I've been waiting to hear.
To counter the 'doing nothing' attitude, I will step into the 'being still' zone by occupying myself of things I actually really love to do--like writing! And I've got books piled up waiting to be read just to put oil in the rusting engine of what I call 'The Think Tank.' I'm also recently active in volunteering. Thank God for the Cinemalaya Volunteer hunt posted in Tumblr (referred by friend, Mark A. to me) and my undeniable love for the youth and music which keep me up on my toes always.
It's really a choice I had to make. 'Do I really want to do nothing, worry a lot and gain pounds while at it? Or to actually be still by keeping off the worries, getting busy and productive?' I don't know what BEING STILL means to you; to me, it means having peace that surpasses all understanding despite uncertainty or waiting. But DOING NOTHING means pretty clear--it's being PASSIVE AND LAZY. I don't want to be 'NOTHING-DOER'. Do you?
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