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Wholistique

Personal stories on self-discovery, relationships, and a holistic path to happiness. Wholistique is about growth, not fixing — because you’re not broken. We aim to shift your perspective and empower you with tools to navigate life.

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“Everyone Should Be Quiet Near a Little Stream and Listen”

6 min readMar 15, 2021

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Maurice Sendak’s classic illustration: “Everyone should be quiet near a little stream and listen” from the children’s book Open House for Butterflies by Ruth Krauss.
Illustration by Maurice Sendak in Open House for Butterflies by Ruth Krauss.

There is no better balm for the soul than quiet (or maybe a giant hug). But in an era of white noise, who has time for the soul when it’s all but impossible to think, feel, see, and listen. We’re tethered to devices, distracted by doomscrolling, in a panic to post, and beeps and buzzes turn us into Pavlov’s dog. Technology may make it is easier to be productive and connect us to a ginormous network of “relationships,” but it does little to help us be present to the relationship we have with ourselves, the one which holds us in relation to life itself.

“Running away from boredom” is what Maria Popova, the brilliant mind behind the library of musings on Brain Pickings, calls it. “Today, amid our cult of productivity, we’ve come to see boredom as utterly inexcusable — the secular equivalent of a mortal sin. We run from it as if to be caught in our own unproductive company were a profound personal failure. We are no longer able, let alone willing, to do nothing all alone with ourselves.”

“…We are no longer able, let alone willing, to do nothing all alone with ourselves.”

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Wholistique
Wholistique

Published in Wholistique

Personal stories on self-discovery, relationships, and a holistic path to happiness. Wholistique is about growth, not fixing — because you’re not broken. We aim to shift your perspective and empower you with tools to navigate life.

Michele DeMarco, PhD
Michele DeMarco, PhD

Written by Michele DeMarco, PhD

Award-winning writer, therapist, clinical ethicist, and researcher specializing in moral injury. I talk about the stuff many won’t. micheledemarco.com

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