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On the positive aspects of a life of excess

Restlessness

Ignaas Devisch

We work less, but we have more to do. We have more free time, but we sleep less. While we complain about stress, rushing and the danger of burn-outs, we plan overfilled days. In short, our time is becoming ‘obese’. We cram everything in and are no longer able to mess about or truly do nothing.

Devisch extends to us something we can grasp in order to pull ourselves out of the morass.
Knack

Anyone who thinks restlessness is a phenomenon specific to our own times is mistaken. For centuries people have sought a solution to a problem of which they themselves are the cause: an excessively full life. But is restlessness really a problem or one of our primary motivations?

Passion, creativity and desire are the result of impatience, writes philosopher and physician Ignaas Devisch. In defiance of all appeals to slow down and of calls for spirituality and asceticism, this book advocates a balance between relaxation and dynamism.