The life view of getting things done and getting ahead moves in one direction; stepping back does not seem to be in accord with that view. It’s non-productive, so we don’t have time for it. But what we realize is that if we don’t step back , time has us. We are on the run, on the treadmill of work, career and getting ahead; on the vehicle of what we can get out of life, a vehicle that’s driven by a blind driver. But if we can’t afford ten minutes or even five minutes, that blind driver is going to stay in the driver’s seat. If we can step back, and not be anything or be nothing – not adopting some view that life’s a waste of time, but just curtail being wasted by time –  then there is room for a subtle inner light to dawn. For a moment we can stop putting the pressure on, and stop running to find something to be filled by.

Ajahn Sucitto, Turning the Wheel of Truth.