More can happen when you leave things alone.
You will screw up.
It’s part of the human experience; if nothing else is consistent in our lives, mistakes will always be.
And failure has a unique sting.
It lingers longer than most pain; it even carries over to our next venture to remind us of the stinging feeling.
But humans will always do what humans do best: not settle. We want to feel better and be better.
It’s what got us to the moon.
So we look for solutions. This often happens in a frantic frenzy of trying new things for too little time, and we quickly jump to the next thing.
Medications. Religions. Supplements. Influencers.
Hop. Hop. Hop.
In our desperate attempt to solve problems, we tend to complicate. We want a quick fix to the stinging pain (physical or psychological), so we look, search, research, fret, worry, ask, accommodate, and fail to sit still.
Some call it perseverance.
I call it panic.
This moment is so subtle that it happens almost unconsciously. We resist what is to find the answer in more stuff.
Do more. Buy more. Research more. It’s addicting.
The irony is that in almost every modern-day problem, the solution is found in doing less. But most will deny this because it’s just too simple.
We would rather pick at the scab rather than leave it alone to heal.
Like overwatering a plant when you see it wilting on the ends. Allowing the soil to dry slightly encourages deep root growth. But most don’t know that; they just get watering.
Our society is sick because it follows the gospel of adding and trying, but not subtracting and being satisfied.
Don’t hear me wrong; innovation is a good thing. It’s what gave the world vaccines, worldwide communication, and Little Debbies. Especially Little Debbies.
But something can be brilliant and poisonous, like the oleander plant and smartphones.
Maybe the most important place to stop trying to “fix” is yourself. Maybe life would be better if you just took a deep breath, stopped searching for a solution, and felt okay with being just a little off.
Being off and terribly wrong are a worlds away, yet we tend to interchange them.
Maybe it’s time to just do less.
- Eat less.
- Buy less.
- Binge less.
- Talk less.
There is space for innovation, but no longer space for panic. Your mind will give you what you need if you give it a chance to breathe and just be.
I don’t think life is all about fixing, talking, doing, picking, and scratching.
It’s certainly not about buying more, bargaining for solutions, or becoming addicted to the quick fix. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . it’s about being satisfied.
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. - Isaiah 58:11