Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.

The quote is one that is commonly used to promote persistence and endurance despite challenges.

First, recognise the beauty in the effort, the meditation in the action. To keep going when you are tired, you must tap into a source of energy that is beyond the physical. This is where the meditative quality comes in. It is in this realm that you must find a space of witnessing – where tiredness is seen as a passing cloud, an occurrence that you note but do not become.

However, Osho’s vision extends beyond mere endurance; it encompasses awareness. Therefore, ‘being done’ doesn’t merely refer to the completion of a task. It refers to the fulfilment of the moment, the understanding that what you are doing is a part of your being, your evolution, your dance of consciousness.

So if you find yourself tired, pause and observe. Ask yourself: are you truly following your joy, your passion? Are you in tune with life? If yes, then find that silent space within you that is never tired. The source that is eternal and playful, that understands the finite nature of the body but revels in the infinity of the soul.

But remember, being ‘done’ is also an illusion of sorts. In life, nothing is ever truly finished. Each end is simply a new beginning. To be ‘done’ is to have absorbed the essence of your doing, to have learned, to have deepened your awareness, to have touched the limitless. It is not the completion of the act, but the expansion of your consciousness that truly signifies you are ‘done’.

So in every endeavour, move with awareness, love passionately, work intensely, but never become just the act. Always remain that which witnesses – the dance, not just the dancer. Only then can you go beyond tiredness, beyond ‘being done’, and taste the real ecstasy of living.