The Art of Doing Nothing
It’s been hard to write for the past month or so. The weeks have been fruitful with personal and family events that have inspired, surprised, challenged and deeply touched me. There is something I sense I want to write about, yet I haven’t been able to wrap my arms around what it is. The integration is still underway. It hasn’t felt like the right time.
Today I have the time. Several topics are meandering around in my brain as possibilities that I would enjoy exploring further. Yet all I want to do is … nothing.
Sit. Gaze out the window. Move to the garden for more sitting and gazing. Change position for a different view. Go to the park or the beach for a walk? Maybe later. Nap, sure. Read a little? Not even interested in that. I might have a conversation if someone wanders by, as long as it’s short and not idle chitchat. I’m not depressed or low, I just don’t want to do anything right now.
It is in states of active calm, tranquility, solitude and quietude that we find the essence of creative energy. – Matthew May
I’m in need of quiet time and space. No agenda. No chores. Even the nattering voice of judgment that often echoes with advice about what I should be doing is surprisingly silent.
Julie Daley calls this time the soul’s ripening and says: “It is good to wait for the ripening before we speak, write or share about something that has not yet worked its way to fruition.”
In the deep waters of my soul I can feel a stirring. At times like this waiting, stillness and listening will reveal more. Some days the waiting is an easier task than others. For today, I’m basking in doing nothing.
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I am a speaker, teacher, writer, and artist working at the convergence of self-care, spirituality, and self-expression.
A Creative Conspirator - an inciter of whatever makes you come alive, an excavator of buried gifts and talents, a fresh breeze that fans the smoldering embers of abandoned creativity. Read More>
One of my favorite popular songs right now has, at it’s core, the lyrics: ‘today, I’m not doing anything…’ I think it’s become so popular because the youth audience who listen are so thoroughly scheduled. I enjoy it for the exact same reason.
I think that’s why weeding exists in the world. And jig saw puzzles. two ways to do something and nothing at the same time