Rumi, the mystical 13th century scholar and poet, cleverly stated, “Never give from the depths of your well, but from your overflow.” At the time in which Rumi lived, life was certainly different than it is today. The majority of people were farmers and toiled over the land, while others were townspeople or clergy. Days were long and hard, yet much simpler than today. In modern day 2025, with 8.2 billion people on Earth, life is in constant motion.

Pre-Covid, many of us were in a pattern of moving faster and faster by the minute. We’d routinely feed our kids a quick meal before they jumped out of the car for their third activity of the day. Many parents would agree, this method of living was just not self-sustaining. There was no potential for overflow—no time for flow, even.

Then Covid hit, and it forced us to slow down, take a breath and revisit our ideals of what is truly important. Does a child really need to participate in multiple sporting teams each season? Is that extra dance class really necessary?

There were periods of calm and chaos, times of indoor solitude and outdoor community—even if our only visitors were Nature’s own. But in that time, we learned to do more than simplify our calendars and tune out outside noise. We re-learned how to tune inward. And in turning inward, we began to flow again.

We are now a couple of years out from that break, and life has—for the most part—returned to “normal”. While many have resumed their busy schedules, our bodies and minds still recall that inward connection.

As bodies and minds slow their constant chatter, a meditative practice, such as Qigong, can bring a deeper level of peace and balance. Qigong is a practice of self-connection—of becoming one with your innermost self, and of understanding your body’s messages before they become problematic. When we are attuned, we are in tune and balanced, allowing ourselves the freedom of creative expression and flow.

So when it is time to give to others—be it time or attention—we will have an overflow from which to pull. And in that light, we can give to others without depleting ourselves.