Original link: https://limboy.me/links/lying-fallow/
This article is a review of an article “On Lying Fallow” by psychoanalyst Masud Khan in Hidden Selves.
“Fallow” means “plowed but not plowed, (especially) fallow land”, the meaning expressed by Lying Fallow is the same as often mentioned words such as: Boredom (boring), Fertile Solitude (fertile loneliness) , Presence (now) have the same purpose, but more visual sense. Fallow farming can not only let the over-stretched and exhausted cultivated land recuperate and restore the ecology; it can also improve the corresponding problems of the soil.
The current culture is one of switching back and forth between productivity and a constant dose of dopamine. And fallow is to jump out of this loop, enjoy the time alone with yourself, and listen to your inner voice. We often say: I’m so tired, take a break, and then pick up my phone or tablet and start watching dramas, social networking or playing games. These acts are leisure, not rest, and the land is not given respite.
A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation… in whom every vital impulse slowly withers, as though they were cut flowers in a vase.
A generation that cannot stand boredom will be… a generation in which every impulse of life is slowly withering, like cut flowers in a vase.
— Bertrand Russell
Lying fallow is, above all, the proof that a person can be with himself unpurposely.
Fallow is the proof that a man can be with himself aimlessly.
— Masud Khan
Fallow also improves focus , as this article on Boredom says: “It’s the cultural sickness of our time: If we stopped doing what we do, we might not know who we are.”
Spend a little time with yourself every day, and maybe some changes will slowly occur that you have always wanted.
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