The Restlessness of a Hunted Mind

I once read some data suggesting that, on average, people spend eight hours a day on social media.

One reason for this is that we have stopped connecting with nature. We have stopped meditating, introspecting, and reading philosophy. As a result, we are beginning to treat an artificial world as real, making our minds weaker and more dependent.

The outward expression of this same problem is constant hustling. Today, people are running, but without any destination. They keep making checklists of goals and ticking them off one after another, without ever asking themselves: What is the real purpose of the things for which I am working like a maniac for fifteen or sixteen hours a day, neglecting family, friends, and mental peace?

The truth is that we have forgotten how to distinguish between meaningful work connected to our purpose and useless, unimportant tasks imposed on us by capitalism and society. In the race for material possessions and new gadgets, we have lost sight of ourselves.

This is where we need to sit quietly and introspect on Seneca’s words:

“For love of bustle is not industry. It is only restlessness of a hunted mind.”