Most people today are never truly alone.
Phones.
Notifications.
Music.
Videos.
Constant noise.
Your brain is always being stimulated.
In Japanese Zen culture, monks believed something very different.
They believed seclusion was necessary to train the mind.
Not escaping life.
But stepping away from the noise of it.
Even in the middle of a city.
They had a phrase for it:
“Seclusion in the city.”
A small moment every day where you disconnect from everything.
No people.
No phone.
No input.
Just you and your thoughts.
Because when your mind is constantly stimulated, something important happens.
You stop thinking for yourself.
You start reacting.
Following.
Consuming.
And eventually you wonder why you feel lost.
Try something simple tonight.
Sit somewhere quiet for a few minutes.
No scrolling.
No talking.
No distractions.
Just silence.
Sometimes the path forward isn’t found in more information.
It’s found in stillness.
~G.