Choose to sit still.

A small competition in faraway South Korea has attracted considerable attention from many Vietnamese people: a competition for sitting still in a daze. It sounds strange and funny, but it's true; such a competition exists in that country and is not new, having been held since 2014.

Contestants are allowed to bring any items they wish, but must sit on a yoga mat and do nothing for 90 minutes except stare silently into space.

The organizers will measure each person's heart rate every 15 minutes. The person with the most stable heart rate and the least facial expression will be the winner. If anyone falls asleep, laughs, or uses electronic devices, that contestant will immediately lose.

The purpose of the competition was to slow down the human brain, to allow it to rest, with the aim of promoting a free, peaceful life, temporarily escaping the stress and pressure of daily life. Surprisingly, the competition attracted 4,000 participants! Many of them shared that they participated not to win a prize, but because they truly needed 90 minutes of quiet contemplation, without thinking, doing, or experiencing any pressure. They were simply too tired of the competition in life!

Reading the news about the bizarre competition in South Korea, I suddenly realized how long it's been since I've done anything at all. It seems that except for a few hours of sleep each day, we're always doing something, anytime and anywhere. We go to school – to build and cultivate knowledge. We go to work – naturally, to make a living. We eat, drink, move, talk, do housework… Even when sitting still, we don't truly stop. We have to scroll through our phones, read a book, drink a cup of coffee, ponder all sorts of things in life…

It turns out that for a long time, we've viewed our bodies as endless machines, constantly rotating, either spinning in one place or moving forward. We rarely ask ourselves if we're tired, exhausted, or want to stop and rest. Even when we do ask, and even if the answer is yes, we usually just ignore it, because that's life, because life is like that, no one is allowed to stop while society is constantly functioning.

There is a sad truth: we are so busy connecting with the world, seeking to understand everything in the world, that we rarely connect with ourselves – a subtle, complex, and mysterious microcosm; a microcosm with countless vulnerable planets that need to be protected by profound understanding.

We know who the first person to set foot on the Moon was, which country launched a cruise rocket into space, which billionaire pioneered the Mars tourism project, our colleague got a raise this month, our neighbor cooked sour fish head soup for lunch… but we don't know what we want, how we feel, or if we are happy. We seem to know everything, but in reality, we know nothing. We think we understand the world well enough, but there's an inner world, how many have recognized and understood it? It seems that most of what we do, think, and know only satisfies our most obvious needs: the need to exist, to breathe. But what about the need to live – a full, complete life, not just in material terms?

We tend to disregard concerns about the spiritual world. Those who believe in the rational always believe what they want; anything that doesn't bring immediate benefit is meaningless. Now, if you were to suggest dedicating a small amount of time each day, week, or month to simply sitting still, doing nothing, allowing the body to relax and rest because it deserves it, many would grumble that only an abnormal person would do that, or perhaps they believe only true ascetics would choose such a path of tranquility.

But just try it, just try it, even if it's just for a few minutes – give your mind a moment of quiet reflection to look deep within yourself, to listen to your inner self, and you might discover a completely different world inside. Sit still, don't move, don't make any noise; it's really difficult, not a joke. Keep your mind as calm as your body, keep your head clear and pure, unclouded by calculations, schemes, and thoughts. Try it and you'll see that sometimes you can't control yourself, that you don't understand yourself that well, that you are not really you.

There's a beautiful song by musician Trinh Cong Son called "Every Day I Choose a Joy." If you choose "just once a day," then have you ever "chosen flowers and smiles," "chosen sunshine and the coming rain," "chosen to sit quietly" to "see your homeland clearly, and reflect on yourself"?