Remove not force
jasonleow • 2 Jun 2025 •
Saw this beautiful short story on the web:
A man asked a gardener why his plants grow so beautifully.
The gardener said:
“I don’t force them to grow.
I remove what stops them.”
Via negativa.
Made me think a lot about what stops our growth, what we can remove:
As a person:
- Distractions
- Doomscrolling
- Late nights, not enough sleep
- Poor quality sleep
- Junk food
- Eating too much
- Too much sugar, processed foods
- Alcohol
- Gambling
- Sitting too long
- Too much screen time
- Too much stress
- Mindless consumption
- Shopping scrolling
- Rushing around
- Gossiping, yapping
- Politicking, manipulation
- Chasing approval of others
- Seeking status and fame
- Chasing followers (instead of revenue)
- Not enough magnesium
- Lack of purpose
- Meaningless work
- Mainstream media
- Lousy friends
- Toxic company
I’m sure there’s much more.
But imagine you removed all that from your life. I think it would be a great life already, never mind adding the good things.
Via negativa.
Comments
@therealbrandonwilson Haha! That one stood out to me, as well. 🤣 It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the list because it’s not something you take away to fix (and “lack of purpose” doesn’t belong in the list, either, imo). But I felt like it was sneaking its way in 🤣
haideralmosawi • 3 Jun 2025, 8:41 am
For some reason, “not enough magnesium” made me chuckle.