A full plate of activity is the default for most. We work hard to get more work so that we can work harder. Humans are an industrious race.

There was a day when we were okay with nothing. We waited in lines and sat on buses. We waited for food in restaurants. All without a smartphone. All without being always connected to the rest of the world.

I say this as someone who stays connected. A lot. I am in Southeast Asia with a local SIM card in my phone with unlimited data. By no means am I saying this is wrong.

But it has become apparent to me that I don’t think well enough. I don’t think deeply enough. I don’t think long enough.

We visited a unique hospital for special needs children located in Northern Thailand today. There is a room specifically designed for children with autism with soothing colors, lights, and sounds. I found it oddly calming. Because we are an overstimulated lot. Information-laden, relationship poor, lugging around a great, big, empty sack of self-awareness.

Be still and know. Lose the clutter. Rise above the noise of cat-videos and the weird things men in Florida apparently do.

It’s a powerful moment when one recognizes that nothing is actually enough.