Jose Eduardo Btesh LMHC

10/08/2025

07/10/2025

DON’T DO ANYTHING. JUST REST.
DON’T DO ANYTHING. JUST REST.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing that doing nothing… means doing nothing for yourself.

We’ve been conditioned to believe that not being productive is somehow a failure.
That if it doesn’t have a visible outcome, it doesn’t count.
That rest is wasted time.

We’ve become so used to being busy —
to checking off boxes,
to tracking our progress,
to measuring worth in output —
that we’ve forgotten something essential:

Rest is productive.

It’s the moment your body heals.
Your mind exhales.
Your soul whispers.

Reading a magazine.
Taking a long shower.
Sitting in the garden with a warm cup of coffee.
None of it is a waste.

Because time spent resting… is time well spent.

We’re not machines.
We’re not meant to hustle 24/7.
We are human beings.

And sometimes, we just need to be.

— Becky Hemsley
Echoes of Insight

01/18/2025

A monk decided to meditate alone, far from his monastery. He took his boat to the center of the lake, tied it there, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. After a few hours of silence, he felt the sudden thump of another boat colliding with his own.
With his eyes still closed he felt his anger rise. He was ready to yell at the other boat owner who had so carelessly disturbed his meditation. But when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to discover that it was an empty boat that had hit his own. It had probably been untied and was floating towards the center of the lake.
At that moment, the monk had a great revelation. He understood that anger was inside him; he only needed the blow of an external object to get it out of him. From then on, whenever he encountered someone who irritated him, he reminded himself that the other person was nothing more than an empty boat: anger was inside him.

01/17/2025

Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing.
Scheduling time to do the thing isn't doing the thing.
Making a to-do list for the thing isn't doing the thing.
Telling people you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.
Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn't doing the thing.
Writing a banger tweet about how you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.
Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn't doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn't doing the thing.
Fantasizing about all of the adoration you'll receive once you do the thing isn't doing the thing.
Reading about how to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn't doing the thing. Reading this essay isn't doing the thing.
The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

Essays by Strangest Loop