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Sunday Monday

Writer's picture: Yan KatchYan Katch

Waking up on Sunday without an alarm is bliss and serenity. It's like getting up from the best, deepest meditation. Waking up on Monday not well-rested, and jumping straight into the work chaos, is like being a warrior in a medieval battle. I imagine Jon Snow in the battle of the bastards. While one version of waking up feels magnitudes better from a physiological perspective, I can't have one without the other. When the Sunday wake up becomes the everyday, it feels like laziness and lack of purpose. When it's the Monday, it feels like overwhelm, stress, and burn out. It's another one of those cycles.


Neither Sunday nor Monday should be put on a pedestal and treated as the holiest, both are to be appreciated for what they bring.

For a long time I found myself trying to conceptually fit the "growth and achievement" mindset with "zen and presence". The most palatable approach seemed to be that of Stoicism or Zen Buddhism (as they share many similarities in my experience). It is, however, nuanced. There is a vast difference between someone who is exclusively a philosopher or exclusively a doer.


Akin to Sunday vs. Monday, solely praising the thinking or the doing is shortsighted. Both in the right mix are necessary for the proper life.


I am certainly at fault for over indexing on thinking, which in turn creates friction when it comes to doing. It's comparable to resting for too long, leading to muscle atrophy, or working out excessively and causing muscle strain as well as foregoing recovery.

Perhaps there is great ancient wisdom in the practice of keeping Shabbat in the pattern of 6:1, six days of work to one of rest.


“Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week.” – Alice Walker

And so, with this reminder to self I thank the thinking, which has lead me to this point of peace and understanding, and resume to do the doing.


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