Movement is, without question, the most scientifically proven way to increase brain development, better thinking, creativity, and workflow. We understand this in the raising of a child and in steeling the mind of the elderly, but what about the rest of us in the middle? Does this not apply, or are we aware of the hypocrisy but feel helpless to change it? If we were created by optimal design (whether it be a godhead or a unifying feature of the universe), our work environment and our societal norms are conversely not designed with the same level of consideration.

Modern Naturalism

In the vein of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, if every person had access to the divinity of nature and the ability to take nature walks, we wouldn't be so reliant on meditation, medication, and distraction. There is a Korean saying in the countryside, "Insomnia is a luxury for those who live in the city." In rural and rustic places, there is disease and physical suffering — stemming from infection, malnutrition, and famine. In the modern trappings of the city, we live longer, but one could argue we get sick sooner. The variety of ailments available in the cities would take several volumes of books to describe, and that's only the mental health conditions. Some ailments are so esoteric and foreign, only those in first-world America have it. So we search for quick-fixes because we can afford them, solutions that do not require changing our regular lives. And they don't work.

Meditation is beautiful, and in the context of people who are always outside, moving and working, it is an act of thoughtful balance — and balance is beautiful. Some of us meditate in the vein (perhaps "vain" would be more apropos) of the CEO, as a "hack." (CEO-style meditation is, in fact, a "thing.") We don't do it to find balance, we do it to be successful, to emulate the people we aspire to be like — not the Buddha, but the "spiritual" billionaire. It is a variation of the part of us that looks for ancient remedies, not because we want to be closer to wisdom of the past but because we want a quick way to lose weight. These are all expressions of the trinity of contemporary desire: to be as wealthy as possible, as young as possible, and as skinny as possible. Meditation then has become like everything else, something we can do while sitting there, to prolong the sitting we were already doing. Meditation was a method of deep-thinking and no-thinking. Rather than fluidly moving from the two schools of meditation, we picked one: no-thinking. No movement.

It is purported to relieve anxiety, so we can keep working. However, sitting too long itself causes anxiety. Why not take a long walk, sit under a tree, and reflect? Why not hike to the top of the city and enjoy the view? Meditation, in the way we are currently using it, is anti-meditation. It is not anti-establishment, it only reinforces the status quo — its only value is to increase utility — neurotic productivity. If the CEO is who we are emulating, then the employees remaining still, docile, and exhaustingly utilitarian, seem ideal. Perhaps the life of a rockstar CEO involves a lot of travel, swimming with dolphins, and partying with celebrities. Then stillness and quiet can give them balance. However, balance means different things in different contexts. A village can be "yang" in the morning but "yin" in the evening. It all depends on what is overabundant.

Meditations on Nature and Walking