Greetings, readers. Today is a silly post day. Or maybe it’s not really silly. Like most things, it depends on your perspective. On our refrigerator, we’ve got a magnet with a picture of a couple wearing bathing suits and sporting big smiles on their faces, a beach scene in the background. At the bottom of the magnet is the caption, “The problem with doing nothing is that it’s so hard to tell when you’re finished.”
What’s good about doing nothing?
This featured photo is of yours truly at about age four, living it up doing nothing but swinging back and forth and seeing the world upside down. I loved that. It wasn’t about accomplishing anything really or competing with anyone. It was just plain fun, and it seems to me was in the category of doing nothing.
The caption on our frig magnet made me want to ask you for any similar wisdom, insights, or jokes you might have about doing nothing. In our hurry-up and do something world, it’s nice to just stop and do absolutely nothing: stare out the window, watch birds fly by, or stretch out on the grass and witness clouds drift overhead. If you happen to be into Zen meditation, maybe you can offer us more on this. Just be one with it.
Be one with nothing
In the Comments section below, let us hear from you about doing nothing. Here are some prompts to get us started.
- When’s a good time to do nothing?
- How do you feel when you do nothing?
- Where is a good place to do nothing?
- Why should anyone do nothing when there’s so much to do?
- How long does a “do nothing” session need to last to count as really doing nothing?
Thanks for reading!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Bob Smither
A favorite saying from Thich Nhat Hanh: Don’t just do something, sit there!
Steve Muratore
Being is more important than doing…
Kathleen Brandt
I had to really think about your question. I came to the conclusion that I never do nothing! Hmm…. maybe I should start!
Charlene
I just love this topic because it makes a playful push towards considering just what “doing nothing” means. Even sitting still for five minutes without thinking of much is still “doing something” because you’re sitting still. That’s doing something, even though it’s not much of anything.
Even when we’re sleeping, it can be said we’re doing something: we’re sleeping. Isn’t that something?
Little Charlene on the swing is actually doing something. She’s swinging.
In Zen Buddhism, we hear about practitioners who sit still and clear their minds for hours on end. That’s considered “doing nothing.”
In sensory deprivation chambers it’s likely that folks probably are “doing nothing.”
For me, what qualifies as “doing nothing” is when I am horizontal on the sofa staring at the ceiling. Just breathing.
Charlene Edge
Thanks everyone for these comments!