Echoes Of Stillness

“ A step back is not a setback. ”

Think about the feeling when you take that one nice vacation with your family or friends after working really hard for days. Or that one month long holiday between two hectic semesters that felt nothing less than a nerve-wracking rollercoaster. These short breaks give us time to rest, re-center and revitalize ourselves, which is essential for personal growth. In fact, just the thought of them makes us feel great, doesn’t it? Similarly, in the big picture of life it is important to take such pauses at the right time.

Such instances of breaks often occur in nature too. Take for example spring, which is a time of bustling energy in nature when seeds sprout, flowers bloom and many insects start their life cycles. However, this period of activity is preceded by winter, during which animals often go into hibernation and trees become dormant, using this time to prepare themselves.

However, we must not make the mistake of confusing stillness with inactivity. Taking a break doesn’t mean calling it quits. There are times when we face roadblocks that make it hard to keep going. And we might have to just hit the brakes to reconsider and work on ourselves before we move forward. Let’s take the case of sports folks, they hit roadblocks when injuries come their way, and it’s super important for them to take a breather, heal and recharge. You know, like a timeout for their bodies to get back in the game! Sometimes, we are so consumed by the race of life that we lose direction. Stepping back and reflecting on what truly counts can kickstart a re-evaluation, nudging us to make those needed personal tweaks.

Breaks could even serve as a time for self-discovery, finding hidden strengths and nurturing one’s skills.

A break may mean different things to different people. What really matters is the lessons we learn, that become guiding lights for the next steps of our journey. The outside world may not understand the decision of pausing and looking down upon someone taking a break, often perceiving it as “doing nothing”.

The story of Steve Jobs is one such example of the impact of a break. In 1985, Jobs was ousted from Apple, the company he created, for being arrogant and hard to work with. In the years following his resignation, he returned to his passion for computers. To the world it seemed like he was idle, but he worked on creating high-end computers and ultimately founded NeXT. Even though NeXT was deemed to be a failure as the computers were expensive, the work put in during those years ultimately paid off when Apple bought NeXT. And after an eleven year gap, Steve Jobs was brought back to the company he founded. Post this, Apple grew to dominate the market and Jobs became one of the most successful entrepreneurs. Ironically, this time around his attitude was seen as a part of his genius.

Often taking a break is seen as a problem and in the context of career, a downfall. It gets linked with incapability or sometimes even laziness.

In this era of “hustle culture” and “Make it big in your twenties”, the decision of taking a break is not easy, and requires a lot of courage and self-belief. Have you ever felt like just hitting the pause button of life? But before you can even let that idea sink in, there is already another thought lingering in your mind- that of self-doubt. And it’s already making you feel guilty. This is nothing but the reflection of our society today.

It has become all the more important to take breaks for one’s mental health and peace. The excessive digital connectivity and access to everything has added a lot of stress due to comparisons and pressure to perform. In a student’s life, there is so much emphasis on results that it is often a tough decision for a student to hit the pause button and reconsider what it is they really want to do. Even though social media has brought us all closer, it has led to this perfect image of friendships and relationships. Sometimes it forces us to feel like we need to be in each other’s lives all the time that we hardly even give enough space and time to one another. However, taking breaks even in friendships can make the bond stronger.

“If we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving, and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves and of threatening ourselves with death.”

• Extract from ‘Keeping Quiet’ by Pablo Neruda

During a break, it is very easy to lose motivation and start questioning the process. We rarely talk about what actually goes inside the mind of the person taking the break. It’s important to acknowledge that it is alright to just pause and trust that you will rise again, even when no immediate results are seen.

We can take inspiration from the Phoenix Process that goes back to ancient Egyptian mythology. The legend goes like this- the phoenix began as an ordinary bird whose nest was caught on fire by a god-like hand. Instead of suffering, the bird began to dance in the flames and eventually burned to ashes. However, this was not the end for the bird, instead it was a new beginning. The bird emerged from the ashes, a sort of resurrection, this time more powerful and beautiful than ever.

Breaks hold a space for the phoenix process in our lives and are a means to unleash some magic of our own.

It may sound counterintuitive at first, but taking a break can help in increasing productivity. In fact, the break could be the very reason for success. Just as the phoenix emerges more powerful after the ashes settle, one resurges from the break with something better. The stillness and silence can be scary. However, the echoes that emanate from it, make everything worth it.

Did this get you thinking or change your perspective on taking a break? Well, then the upcoming event of TEDxIITGuwahati is just for you.