This past weekend, I enjoyed doing nothing. I did nothing with two of my good friends literally the entire day on Saturday - from 10:30am when I decided it was a good idea to wake up until around 6:00pm when I decided it was a good idea to make myself presentable before going to dinner with doing-nothing-friend #3. Did I literally do absolutely nothing? No, we did things. Ya know, stuff. We drove to Starbucks and sat outside in the beautiful weather and enjoyed watching a little boy run and jump through the water fountain. Then, we drove to the next town and picked up vegan pizza to-go and had a picnic in the grass. Then we went back to my friend's house, watched Kick Ass (the movie that took me one week and three feeble attempts to finish), and I took a *gasp* NAP. That's right, this girl passed out for 20 minutes on the futon with the fan blowing on her. As I'm sure you will come to learn, naps really aren't my thing. I never really have time for them.
Seriously, what about that day does not sound amazing? If you say that there was no smoothie involved - you're wrong. I woke up, we went outside and I watched them throw a rugby ball around, then we went to the mall and got smoothies, walked around, and ran into some other people we knew. Boo-yah. Day: Complete.
And this is where I tell you how I analyze this and turn my day of greatness and leisure into a scientific/ mathematical equation and add some logic and throw in my opinion. This is where the "often abused or neglected" part comes in:
ABUSED: being a bum - never working + never doing anything = lazy ass
NEGLECTED: busy all the time + over-working - doing nothing = workaholic
ART: working hard + making time for doing nothing = bliss
Abusing the Art
Doing nothing should be enjoyed and not taken for granted. If you eat ice cream every day of your life, it loses its specialness. You will no longer get the enjoyment of cheating on your diet if you eat it all the time. Instead, you will no longer be on your diet and you will just have bad eating habits. The same goes for leisure. You will not be able to understand and appreciate the true joys of having a lazy day, or even a lazy hour, if it is all you ever do. If the idea of sitting around and enjoying the quiet for a few moments sounds boring to you, then my wild guess is that you probably do it too often. It may just be my opinion and mine alone, but the term "bored" is really kind of...stupid. Why be bored? Because you don't ever do anything productive enough to cause you to crave a moment to reflect on how amazing and productive you have been. Example: a seventh grader on summer break from school. Not a child, not yet an adult. Can't drive, but don't want to go outside and "play" like they did last year. Outcome: three months of boredom.
Don't you dare act like a teeny-bopping seventh grader! Don't abuse your right to do nothing!
Neglecting the Art
Doing nothing should always have a place in life. Sitting in a doctor's office really doesn't count as time put towards celebrating the art of doing nothing. You may be sitting there and not physically be doing much of anything, but you aren't enjoying it. Chances are, you squeezed an appointment in amongst an array of other things that you have to get done that day. There have not been many times I could think of when I scheduled a doctor's appointment on a Saturday morning so I could take a morning stroll, get brunch with the girls, and then leisurely head for a checkup. However, the Saturday morning stroll and brunch is perfect do-nothing-while-still-doing-something time! There is never a reason why the art of doing nothing is neglected. If you're busy, you are never too busy. You can take enough time, collect yourself, breathe deep, and enjoy a moment of peace. The people that come to mind when I think of the "neglectors", as we'll call them, are workaholics. WHAT IS THE POINT? You aren't ever going to slow down, you are always going to have something new to work on, and waiting for the natural break in your schedule is a joke. Just stop doing everything! Give yourself as little as five minutes a day to do nothing. You'll be happy you did.
The Balance of the Art
Finding the balance between doing something and doing nothing is extremely easy. The balance is in the humongous grey area between the two and you can live anywhere among the grey as you wish! As long as you don't remain in total whiteness or total blackness for too long, you will surely find balance. And within the balance is peace, harmony, tranquility, productivity, and happiness. Personally, I am more of a neglector. My brain turns into such an overdrive monster during stressful times (midterms, deadlines at work, finals week - you name it) that I literally forget to have time to relax. And then, even when I do find time, it isn't true relaxation! Sure, I put my yoga pants on and ohm my way through sequence after sequence, but my mind won't quiet. I'm thinking of what I've got to do after I finish my yoga. This is dangerous. The inability to walk away and quiet your mind is dangerous. Luckily, I have learned to find my balance. And my balance changes all the time and yours can too. There is no set guideline or time allotment to follow. Sometimes you'll feel like you need more or less do-nothing-and-worry-about-nothing time and you have 100% freedom to alter as you desire. That is what makes the art of doing nothing so beautiful. So be zen. Be calm. Feel centered and in unity with your spirit. Take some time to reflect on your own soul! Have the fun and leisure that you damn right deserve!
How do you find your balance between the two? What do you love to do when you're doing nothing? Let me know!
Love, love, love,
Pretty Wanderer
