We're working out, watching Netflix and learning to play

In a time of great stillness, when the world was hushed by fear and solitude, the artist J-Hope spoke these humble yet profound words: “We’re working out, watching Netflix, and learning to play instruments. I think we’re doing a lot of self-development, and also just trying to stay active.” At first, these words may seem simple, even ordinary. Yet within their simplicity dwells a quiet strength — a reminder that even in stillness, the human spirit must move. When the great tides of fate confine us, the wise do not surrender; they turn inward, finding new rhythms of life, new harmonies of the soul.

For J-Hope, one among the seven who carried light through song to millions, these words were born in the time of global isolation — when music halls fell silent, and the streets lay empty. Yet he and his brothers did not allow despair to chain them. Instead, they turned their gaze inward, training the body, nourishing the mind, awakening the spirit. The act of working out became a declaration that though the world might pause, the heart would not. The act of watching stories became a way to understand humanity, to find comfort in shared emotion. And learning instruments became an offering to the future — a vow that creativity would not die in confinement, but would blossom anew.

Such is the way of all who seek self-development in the face of limitation. The ancients, too, knew this truth. When the philosopher Epictetus was born into slavery, he did not possess freedom of body — but he claimed freedom of the soul. Denied the external, he turned inward, mastering the inner world until no master could chain his spirit. Like J-Hope’s generation, he understood that growth is not dependent on circumstance. The gymnasium of the mind is vast, and every moment — even those spent in stillness — is a chance to become stronger, wiser, more alive.

To stay active is not only to move the limbs, but to awaken the will. For idleness is a slow death, and the mind that ceases to stretch becomes its own prison. The hero of every age, when faced with trial, has chosen motion over despair. Think of the painter Frida Kahlo, trapped in her broken body, yet endlessly creating worlds of color upon her canvas. Think of the poet Rumi, who in exile found the dance of divine love. So too, J-Hope speaks the same eternal language: that even when the outer world grows dark, one must kindle an inner fire and tend to it with care.

This saying is not only about leisure or pastime; it is a parable of resilience. It calls to the young and the weary alike: “Do not waste the stillness that life grants you. Do not wait for the storm to end before you learn to sail.” In every act of play, in every note practiced, in every movement of the body, the soul is trained. To exercise is to discipline the flesh; to learn is to sharpen the mind; to rest with purpose is to restore the heart. All three are sacred, and together they form the trinity of true development.

The story of J-Hope and his brothers reminds us that creation is not born only in triumph — it blooms in endurance. During those long days of separation, they prepared songs that would soon carry hope across oceans. They transformed solitude into art, and silence into rhythm. And when they emerged, their music bore the mark of growth — not the frantic energy of the crowd, but the deeper stillness of reflection. Thus, their joy became not just performance, but testament: that the human spirit, when nurtured, becomes unbreakable.

Take this as a teaching, child of tomorrow: when the world slows, do not lament. Use the hour to learn, to strengthen, to awaken. Pick up a book. Stretch your limbs. Listen deeply. Create without fear. Let your heart be your instrument, and your days a song of renewal. For the seasons of stillness are not a curse — they are the hidden workshops of destiny.

So remember the wisdom of J-Hope: even in pause, there is motion; even in quiet, there is growth. The path of self-development is not found in grand gestures, but in the simple, daily acts of staying alive in spirit. The one who keeps moving — even softly, even slowly — shall rise again with the dawn, reborn in strength, grace, and hope.