Idleism

Does the act of sitting in a park, patiently looking through a pair of binoculars and reading through field guides really deserve to be described with the same adjective usually reserved for angsty hardcore punk music, crusty anarchos and angry outcasts with ripped leather jackets?

If one considers punk as anything defiantly anti-capitalist,... See more

“People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing—refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.”

Sometimes when I’m parenting alone, I slip into a mental state I call “idling.” It happens when my toddler’s nearby but playing on her own, meaning I only need to pay her half of my attention.

“I felt like I was just a flightless bird that could only grip the railing and gaze into the distance,” he said.

The dulling of an era.

With more consumption of TikTok, you find your brain begins to replace facts, figures, and important cognitive skills with nothing but the endless ruminating of dances and made-up songs you’ve spent your day digesting — yes, you have begun stage one of brain fog.

To feel creatively and intellectually alive, you have to stop mindlessly consuming the Internet and start mindfully curating it.

“The culture tells us two things can’t coexist. People say to me ‘I want to love my life but also pay my rent’ or ‘I want to be super mature but also child-like’, or ‘I want to travel but I’m also a homebody’ or ‘I want to be productive and also relaxed.’ Calm down... you can do both.” — Martha Beck