Dear Readers, Sometimes all it takes is a single moment: pausing, taking a breath, moving on. A moment of rest is not a standstill. It is the very condition for staying true to oneself in a world that constantly demands more speed. With "Atempause" launching on Vivere in Italien a new column by Dr. Christoph Glummbegins. The physician and author draws on his personal experiences, shares impulses for body and soul, offers practical everyday tips, and opens up fresh perspectives on life, presenting all of this in short and compelling videos.
For those who want not just to function, but to live with intention.
In the course of daily life, it is easy to lose sight of how caught up we become in giving, achieving, and keeping things running. Responses are made, expectations are met, tasks are completed, and it is often only later that something essential is found to be missing: the moment of pausing, of gathering oneself, of coming back to center. With the new series "Atempause," this space will be offered on a regular basis going forward, as a brief interruption in the everyday, as an impulse that lingers, and as an invitation not to lose sight of oneself. The following impulse picks up precisely on this idea and leads, with surprising clarity, to a simple, almost timeless insight:
Receive first, then give
By Dr. Christoph Glumm Bernhard von Clairvaux, a monk and abbot of the 12th century, articulated a thought that could just as easily have come from a modern burnout guide: "If you are wise, show yourself to be a basin rather than a canal, which receives and passes on simultaneously, while the basin waits until it is full. In this way it gives forth what overflows, without loss to itself." Many people today live like a canal: everything flows through them, and they constantly pass everything on. Stillness and inner composure fall by the wayside. Activity and output are valued more than listening, learning, and receiving. Yet those who function without pause and without replenishing themselves will eventually run dry and burn out. Bernhard's counsel is simple: be a basin. Allow yourself to be filled first, and then give generously. This is precisely what helps against exhaustion today as well: not constantly depleting oneself, handling one's own energy with care, and giving from a place of abundance. It is healthier, and more loving, toward oneself and toward the peoplewho receive the gift of what overflows from within.
