I think this is a very important Epicurean principle to consider -- that we are going to navigate through the world neither numb, nor frenzied -- and maybe a better word than "calm" would be "grounded" (?)
I like "grounded"
It even hints at a connotation of a "foundation on which to build" that is becoming my understanding of ataraxia.
VS 11 - "For most people, to be quiet is to be numb and to be active is to be frenzied.
I like that VS. To me, it speaks to the unsatisfied way many people experience their lives. This VS to me also is a direct refutation of the Cyrenaic position of a frenzied pursuit of one momentary pleasure after another without taking time to neither calmly reflect on pleasures of the past nor to anticipate the pleasures of the future. Here's my translation:
For the majority of people, to be at rest is to be bored stiff; but to be active is to be raving like a rabid dog.
The "rest" there is hesykhias which also shows up in PD14:
The purest security is that which comes from a quiet life and withdrawal from the many, after having obtained a certain degree of security with respect to other men by means of comfort and prosperity.