Week 4: The Secret Behind the Sloth

Sedation of the Soul

Straight up: I’m not talking about the adorable, slow-moving tree yogis with serene smiles and naturally chill nervous systems.

I reckon those super-sleepy sloths have it all figured out. No taxes, no TikTok, no existential crises. Just leaves, naps, and more leaves. Long days blending hanging upside down with the occasional dip, and basically watching the world go by. Oh, and hours of loving hugs with ancient tree trunks, soaking up all that good juju. Honestly? Goals.

Here, I’m talking about the other kind of sloth—the one listed among the seven deadly sins we’ve been unpacking for the past few weeks. This one is far less innocent, far more widespread, and unfortunately, not equally endangered.

Sloth is not just about snoozing past the third reminder from your alarm clock, or taking a well-deserved day off. It’s about spiritual and energetic stagnation. Soul sedation. And in today’s world, being lazy, apathetic, and not thinking for oneself, has become almost a built-in design feature. Dangerously so.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all been subtly programmed to disengage to some degree. To outsource our thinking. Just look at how many ‘teachers/leaders’ rely on AI nowadays for their ideas and content. Humanity has been told to “trust the plan,” stay passive… and if you wait long enough… someone else will come along to fix it. When you add in endless distractions, dopamine loops, and an entire culture built on convenience and compliance, suddenly sloth isn’t so rare at all. It’s actually a coping strategy. A consequence of chronic overwhelm. And a condition we have normalized.

Sloth is not idleness—it’s hijacked stillness. And it’s not just laziness either—it’s learned helplessness. It’s the spell of apathy that keeps the soul sedated and the spirit subdued. So no—this isn’t about being tired. God knows we are all feeling worn out and wearied beyond measure. It’s about what happens when we forget our agency, our vitality, and our voice.

Sloth has long been painted as a minor sin. A mild misdemeanour, in comparison with the other six, that is. One that’s relatively easy and convenient for most people to dismiss, but beneath the surface it carries deep and often depressing consequences. Because the real sin of sloth is not rest. It’s not even doing nothing. It’s disconnection from soul-driven action. And soul-driven action, en masse, is exactly what humanity needs right now to pull itself out of slavery and reclaim sovereignty.