Futile and Harmful Acts

Man’s every action, be it mundane or spiritual, is of three kinds: beneficial, harmful, and neither beneficial nor harmful (i.e. futile). However, on closer examination it will be understood that the third category, viz. futile acts, is also part of the second category, namely, harmful. The time and effort expended in a futile act would be considerably beneficial if spent constructively. Deprivation of this benefit is in fact harm and a loss.

For instance, consider the countless hours spent scrolling through social media on our mobile phones. Is this activity truly beneficial? Or is it a futile act that is wasting our time and energy? We may think we are staying connected with friends and family, but are we really building meaningful relationships or are we just passively consuming information? The time and effort spent on social media could be spent on more constructive activities, such as learning a new skill, exercising, or spending quality time with loved ones