Monday, October 24, 2022

Does doing nothing equal something ?



Not really Hank

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:

I was really out of it the other day, because I had a dental implant. I know, it’s miraculous, and I am thrilled, but the day after really knocked me out. I tried to work, but I just couldn’t get my brain to function, and finally just sat on the couch trying to read.

I felt really guilty about it. I thought: I should be doing something. This doesn’t hurt that much. I have too much to do. I’m going to get even more behind. I can’t just sit here.

And after I thought ”I can’t just sit here,” I thought: really? Why not? Why can’t I do this, do nothing, for some finite amount of time?

And it wasn’t even really nothing, you know? I was reading a book, a wonderful book, written by an author I get to interview next week and I am so excited. So it wasn’t even nothing! So why did I feel guilty?

Do you all feel guilty when you relax? Or try to relax? Or can you just–-relax? Does doing nothing equal something?

JENN McKINLAY: Surprising no one, I’m sure, I’m not very good at doing nothing. I’m so bad at doing nothing that the last time I can remember being still and doing nothing (not even reading), I was sitting on the couch in our cottage in Nova Scotia, watching my mom and my sis-in-law play Yahtzee. It lasted twenty glorious minutes and then I had to go walk the beach or pick wild raspberries or something. I wish I could do nothing more often. I truly do, but I’m just not wired that way.

RHYS BOWEN: I’m another one in the not good at doing nothing club. If we go on vacation to one of those all-inclusive resorts I can sit under an umbrella with a book for the first morning then I find myself saying to John, “So there’s a kayak trip to see dolphins and then a Spanish class…"

The closest I come to this inner peace is driving to a local cove called China Camp. I have a year’s membership so I don’t have to pay for parking. It’s a tiny beach on the San Francisco Bay and I sit staring out at the water, watching seabirds and children playing at the edge. It’s very relaxing and restoring but after an hour the little voice starts whispering “You should be getting home. You have those emails to answer. That blog to write.”

I once did a meditation class and was told to clear my mind and think of nothing. What? How can anybody clear their minds? Mine is always running a mile a minute.

HANK: Ha! Me, too, Rhys. I started thinking: how can I think about nothing? What is nothing, really? That’s kind of interesting, because nothing is something, whoa, you could think about nothing and nothingness and infinity forever. It’s fascinating. I wonder what nothing really is….

So much for thinking about nothing.

LUCY BURDETTE: Me too, terrible at sitting around. Terrible. Here’s a photo of something I wrote in grade school–see, it’s my destiny.
 



HANK: Lucy, that's either hilarious or terrifying...


LUCY: I know! The question is, did the teacher have everybody writing that down over and over? Or did I make it up? Either way is frightening! Anyway, there's always a long to-do list on my desk and more in my phone notes, so it doesn’t feel right not to be working. Luckily for me I suppose, Lottie has to be walked several times a day so that’s downtime. Also, yoga class does not allow me to think or worry.

A couple weeks ago, I saw John on the couch in the middle of the day doing the crossword puzzle. “You’re just relaxing?” I asked, with maybe a hint of criticism in my voice. It’s hard to get past that!

HALLIE EPHRON: Doing the crossword puzzle is not “just relaxing” IMHOP! It’s part of my daily regimen, along with a walk. And Spelling Bee. And… ohhhh I can be so busy busy busy doing “nothing.”

What I find terrifying is that I can no longer and *really* do nothing. No cell phone, book, newspaper, computer. Just BE. Wait for birds to show up in the birdbath. Commune with the stars or clouds or whatever. I’m sure I could have done that, once upon a time.


DEBORAH CROMBIE:
I don’t think I ever “do nothing” when I’m inside. There is always work, or chores, or that to-do list. Even in the bath I’ll be listening to an audio book. If I am outside and there is a view, or a sunset, or just the birds in the backyard, I can sit for a while, but it doesn’t last long. On the other hand, I spend way too much time staring out the window when I should be writing! 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I think I know why I'm the Red whose books are always so late... I love doing nothing, and practice it on the regular. I mean, I don't stare into space for long periods of time, unless I'm standing by the sink trying to remember why I walked in the kitchen. But I can spend hours reading for fun, taking meaningless strolls, looking at pretty pictures in the Internet, napping (is there anything more blissful than a Sunday nap?) playing Mah-Jong solitaire... 

 

Honestly, I'm pretty sure I'm a writer because it's the laziest job I could come up with.


HANK: A. A. Milne had Pooh and Christopher Robin discuss it:

"What I like doing best is Nothing."

"How do you do Nothing," asked Pooh after he had wondered for a long time.

"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, 'What are you going to do, Christopher Robin?' and you say, 'Oh, Nothing,' and then you go and do it.

It means just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

"Oh!" said Pooh.”



What do you all think, Reds and readers? How good are you at doing nothing ? Do you believe in the italian saying "Dolce far Niente"? (Which means "the sweetness of doing nothing.")

88 comments:

  1. I think it depends. If I don’t feel well, sometimes sitting and doing nothing is the best I can manage.
    Generally, however, I’m good at sitting and reading or doing puzzles, but not necessarily good at sitting and . . . doing absolutely nothing. [Although it seems to me that we’re always doing something anyway, even if we’re just sitting and considering what comes next.] . . . .

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    2. Well, that is so true! I wonder if it’s just a question of allowing ourselves to relax. We think relaxing means doing nothing, when actually, it is ...relaxing! Certainly doing a crossword or a puzzle is not nothing, and it’s clearly more than doing a puzzle. We are, dare I say it, having fun! And learning something, and even having a feeling of success. So that is certainly not nothing, either. xxx

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  2. I don't know about sitting and doing nothing, but I can sit. I can sit and read and talk on a video call and have conversations with friends through FB or messaging and I can read and I can write reviews and I can fall down rabbit holes on the computer looking something up and I can play my word game on my phone. Well, you get the idea. I'm actually doing something when I'm sitting. I can sit and listen to music sometimes, so maybe I'm doing nothing then, since I don't have to make any effort. So, I think we have to agree on what nothing is before we can say whether or not we are good at it. Now, my husband is not good at it at all. He isn't good at sitting, well not during the day. He can sit at night. But, I have to tell you that it makes me feel quite guilty when he's flitting through a room and I'm sitting reading or on the computer. I know that I'm doing "something," but I think he may view it as doing nothing. Of course, my Brittany Spaniel Lulu wants me to sit all day while she sleeps in her bed. I think dogs could teach us a thing or two about doing nothing and relaxing.

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    1. Now that, dear Kathy, as always, is so fascinating! Yes, it is all about what the word means… And you are incredibly brilliant that we could learn from dogs. Wow. That is very thought-provoking. xxx Lulu has her act together.

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    2. Lottie is not good at doing nothing LOL--she's still always busy looking for trouble!

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    3. Hank, I think what's most interesting is that the definition of "nothing" differs from person to person. To me, there's a lot of things that other people would consider nothing that I can make a case for as doing something. Take napping for an example. Napping is giving your body a chance to rest and recharge, and that's not nothing. I think of a boyfriend my daughter had in high school and who was amazed at our attitude toward reading as doing something important. His parents would accuse him of doing nothing and being lazy if he sat and read. (Thank goodness she didn't end up with that guy.) Sitting on the back porch listening to an NPR jazz program is again doing something to me. It's unfortunate that the Puritan work ethic and "idle hands are the devil's workshop" thinking have been so influential in our thinking. Lucy, I think we need some videos of Lottie. Hahaha!

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  3. I agree with Julia, there’s nothing better than a Sunday nap!
    Lisa in Long Beach

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    1. But then--isn't it difficult to wake up? Whenever I nap, then wake up, I always want scrambled eggs because my brain thinks it's morning.

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  4. I can't do nothing. I don't even just watch TV. I'm usually on my computer doing something on the internet while watching. Half the time, it's blog work.

    However, reading is not doing nothing. I've got a certain amount of pages I need to finish up in order to get books finished on time.

    Every so often, I do get the urge to just sit and veg. And then I'm more productive the next day. So I've learned to listen to those urges, as long as they don't come along too quickly. Usually that involves actually sitting and watching a movie or TV show. Maybe for review later. Maybe just because I want to watch it because it's an old favorite.

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    1. Being able to just watch TV, just that, is quite a skill. Which I do not have! It's laptops and phones--too tempting.

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  5. A few times over the last two years of Covid, I have been left in a doctor's office to wait an hour or more, with nothing to do. Since I rarely carry a phone, and magazines disappeared in the pandemic, I had to just ... sit and think. I did, but also reflected that it wasn't easy. More generally, I am notorious (and often mocked gently by my family) for my lists. I have farm lists, writing lists, spring lists, fall lists, winter lists, gift lists... you get the idea. From these I make my daily list. My husband teases me about my Inner Puritan. We are both retired; he regularly reads for hours, and takes a daily nap; I read the news over coffee but by 8 AM I'm on task and usually I don't relax until after we've had dinner. I do like to work, but I also think I came up with this structure for my life long ago as self-defense, to keep the family and its domestic details on track. The only time I really recall getting away from this discipline is on annual spring vacations, when I would drive, with a friend and our children, to Florida. The kids were big enough to play in the pool safely and I would read happily all day, with grocery shopping and cooking dinner on alternate evenings my only chore. However, our last trip was 2013.

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    1. Lists are ALWAYS good, and I love that you are organized. And your family reaps the benefit of it along with you. xoo

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  6. Right there with you all on it being hard to do nothing. I'm just not wired for it, although I am with Julia on the deliciousness of that Sunday couch nap. And my cat Martin is always happy to serve as a role model for how to relax.

    About meditation - my sister Janet has had a Vipassana practice for several decades. She sits for an hour a day. She has said, "Of course thoughts will arise. You acknowledge them, watch them float away, and return to your breath." Or something like that. Not as easy as it sounds!

    Last week I was in the Alexander Valley wine country north of San Francisco. My uncle's vacation home is situated way up on a hill, and both the house and the views are lovely. One afternoon I took a glass of wine out to the wide veranda and sat in a rocking chair - doing nothing! I told myself I work really hard and deserved it.

    And then last night at eleven I was in the airport bus on the way home. I'd been either reading on my kindle or working on my laptop or staring at my phone all day, and my eyes were all done with screens. I was in the very front seat of the bus and I just watched. The driver, the highway signs, the lines in the road. It was kind of nice.

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    1. Oh - you can read all about my trip and some wicked good research I did over at the Wicked Authors today: https://wickedauthors.com/2022/10/24/all-the-details/

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  7. Right there with you on having a tough time just doing nothing. Even when it looks like I'm just sitting--or trying to nap--my mind is racing around, planning this or that. How else could we ever accomplish anything, if we didn't think about ways to go about it?

    I raised kids for 35 years, a good deal of that time while having my own business, so there was always, always something to do. And it seemed as if it would never all get done. But once the girls all were launched, and again after I "retired" my business, it took several years to figure out the next phase. I filled my time with endless big and little projects: fixing these things, painting whole sections of the house, making a rain garden, recovering furniture, researching floor plans for a new house, looking up stuff online, etc. And taking classes, and reading a million books, and on and on.

    The closest I ever get to doing nothing is while porch sitting, either at home or at the farm. With a cup of coffee and my robe, or a glass of cool beverage and a book, I so enjoy just soaking in the peace and the beauty of wherever I am. Is that doing nothing, or is it appreciation of life? That's not nothing, in my book

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    1. Karen, I finally got the last kid out of the house this past May, (or yesterday, if you count my young friend who was living with me while getting her feet under her and finding an apartment,) so I think of all my noodling-around/ doing nothing productive as well-deserved recompense for 30 years of being on the job as Mom!

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    2. Oh, yes, so wise and valuable! Those moments you take to appreciate---yes. SO agree.

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    3. Karen, it's sad that so many people consider sitting and appreciating the world around us as doing nothing. As the song goes (and slightly changed to fit my purposes), "If loving "contemplation" is wrong, I don't wanna be right."

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  8. Such a great topic. Nothing, to me is elusive. And the guilt afterwards comes flooding back as soon as I look at my lists. Notice it's plural. After so many years of working round the clock in the corporate world, when I began writing full time, I slide right into more lists and schedules. Just a different focus area! Truthfully, I really wish I could get better at enjoying nothing. Especially at three in the morning. Here's to all of us fine-tuning our 'nothing skills'.

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    1. Yes, partly it's habit, and conscience, or something. Three in the morning is its own special problem..xoxoo

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  9. I try to practice doing nothing, but in a sense it's one more thing on my to do list. I've been doing centering prayer (meditation) for many years and am totally bad at it. I realized that "being good" at meditation and "doing it right" are just traps. The point is just to be there in all my imperfection.

    In 2020 our church book group read HOW TO DO NOTHING: RESISTING THE ATTENTION ECONOMY by Jenny Odell. She made some really interesting points about how our economic system makes us busy and scattered and unable to sit still and pay attention to our little corners of the world. It's amazing how our minds just pull us away from whatever is right in front of us.Social media only makes these tendencies worse. I cultivate sunrises, because it's hard to be thinking about other things when beauty is slapping me in the face.

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    1. Sunrise! Perfect. (and that's so funny--when I first took tai chi, I asked the instructor whether i was good at it. He's like, um, that's not the point....)

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  10. I am great at doing nothing, but it isn't something I admit because otherwise someone will be more than happy to give me something to do. I hate if someone calls and asks what I am doing. I know they don't really care, it's their opening gambit. So instead of saying 'nothing' I say 'oh this and that.' Or if I said 'I'm relaxing on the couch I'd hear, 'well, that must be nice,' meaning anything but. I have been known to say 'these books aren't going to read themselves, you know.' Just doing my little part for the economy.

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    1. that's good for us to be reminded not to scold people who are better at relaxing than we are!

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    2. Judi, that burns my butt when someone thinks that my reading is doing nothing or receives the "must be nice" comment. I need to think up a really good reply, along the lines of, "Nice? Oh, it's the best thing a person can do, feed their brain." Not quite there yet.

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    3. It's a skill! xxx ANd we authors thank you for your work for the economy! xxx

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  11. Yesterday (Oct 24) shone as a bright, sunny and warm day. These kinds of days are unusual for Cape Breton where it is more likely to be dark, dismal, dreary, rainy, foggy, windy, cold – you pick as many adjectives as you would like, as all will be appropriate. Fiona had blown through just a month ago, and my line of vision was the almost completed rebuilding of the Chicken Palace, and downed, tilted and broken trees as far as you could see. The tomatoes were still needing to be cleaned up, but I had already dug 1/3 of the dahlias earlier in the day. The chickens were out cruising for flies and some of the worms that came up with the dahlias. Alf (dog) and I were just setting on Geriatric Row (set of 6 Adirondack chairs on the deck where you sit and practice for when you really will be on Geriatric Row), looking at nothing, wishing for a butler to come by with a pink popsicle on a silver tray, and reveling in the fact that today was perfect, and all was right with the world. Had my nagging sister come to visit, I was going to tell her that Alf and I were on fox patrol. The work might get done tomorrow… or it might rain and the cat and I will have to do a puzzle.

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    1. Love your descriptions Margo! and so funny that you had your excuse all lined up:)

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    2. Margo, you and A.E. Houseman are in complete agreement:
      "Now, of my threescore years and ten,
      Twenty will not come again,
      And take from seventy springs a score,
      It only leaves me fifty more.

      And since to look at things in bloom
      Fifty springs are little room,
      About the woodlands I will go
      To see the cherry hung with snow."

      Of course, at our stage in life, you have to flip those scores around...

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    3. You are wonderful, Margo! That sounds crazy and peaceful and perfect. Geriatric Row! Love that.

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  12. Like others, I find it hard to do nothing. I was a workalholic at Environment Canada and then the Energizer bunny at home. Not much has changed as a retiree.

    I DON'T NAP and I have never tried to meditate.
    I CANNOT sit on a (often gorgeous) beach and just relax. After 5 minutes, I am bored, and up and walking.

    Yes I read books, but there is usually a book review to post. And daily long walks/exercise are part of my mental sanity.

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  13. I'm with Julia. I'm a pro at doing nothing and if they'd paid me for it, I'd be rich. I can read for hours. I just moved my desk inside and one of the things I'm going to miss is staring out the window watching the chipmunks, birds, and deer - without a thought in my head. At the Cottage, I sit on the front porch (not so much now that it's getting chilly) and stare at the mountains. On retreat a couple weekends ago, I sat on the porch staring at the mountains and the only reason I came in was the wind picked up and it was chilly.

    This drives The Hubby, who always has to be doing *something*, crazy. But I firmly believe there is a time to work and a time to sit back and "be."

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  14. A cat on your lap makes it incredibly difficult to contemplate moving. But having a cat on your lap gives one a measure of relaxation and contemplation--how sweet his expression as he snuggles into a tight ball of fur. How his paw dangles over one's arm. How he turns his face up as his fur is stroked--so soft. And dare I mention 'catnaps'? I'm the filling in the sandwich--one cat prefers to position himself behind my knees, another in front of my legs, a third against my chest. Getting up requires acrobatic feats :-)

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    1. Very true, Flora! In our house, we have a rule - if the cat is nestled on your lap, other people have to fetch your book/ drink/ phone. Because you can't jump up and disturb the kitty!

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    2. Cat sandwich! Awww...you (and they) are loved...

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  15. Liz, I admire your balance. I get restless, and that's not a good thing.

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  16. Many wonderful comments here! And so interesting to read about doing nothing from all of the Jungle Red Writers.

    I think we all have our own answers to the definition of "doing nothing".

    Right now I am brain tired from editing my short story for submission yesterday. I could not sleep so I got up and read the story AFTER submission. I cringed because I saw a few mistakes like typos in my story!

    My idea of doing nothing is also my idea of "self care". September was Self Care Month. I remember my yoga class where we sit and relax. It is hard to close your eyes when you are Deaf, ha ha. Luckily, I was wearing my cochlear implants and I heard a different sound when it was time to open your eyes. The interpreter could also tap my shoulders.

    Sometimes I just sit and look at the beautiful weather outside. Sometimes there is a breeze outside and I can see the trees swaying.

    Hank, you had dental work done so please give yourself a break!

    Perhaps we are burdened with the legacy of the Puritans who believed that doing nothing was bad? I've noticed that Italians and the rest of Europeans know how to relax and do nothing. Just appreciating the moment. I just saw something on social media (I think it was an ad) about burnout.

    Diana

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    1. Aw, thank you. Yes, it still hurts, and my brain is not working... And yes, think of August in the EU!

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  17. Once upon a time, I was a yoga and meditation instructor. I've stuck with the yoga, but only re-discovered meditation during the pandemic as a way to keep my sanity. Then I reconnected (virtually) with one of my favorite teachers from back in the day. She has managed to guide me even closer to the stillness of doing nothing. However, I'm currently racing two deadlines, so I've let the meditation and just being with the breath take a back burner for a few more weeks. It is blissful though, even if it's just a few minutes a day.

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    1. Cannot wait to read the new book--hurray! And yes, it's a juggle!

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  18. After going through Becca Syme's Better Faster Academy and her Quitcast on YouTube, I've learned some of us have tested personality traits where "doing nothing" can be "doing something subconsciously." Sometimes we have to have a bit of fallow time to let the subconscious mind think its thinky thoughts. A blasphemous concept in our productivity culture.

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    1. Rhonda, I like this, and it rings true for me. I can be busy and productive all day long, and have many times in the past, but when I have a day like that, the next day my well is somewhat depleted, and being creative is much, much harder for me. I'll take a look at Becca Syme's presentations; I'd be interested to learn more.

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    2. I really agree with that. I was talking to a vey vey famous author about his, and she said she needs to let the well of her brain refill. That makes so much sense.

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  19. The older I get, the less I worry about "doing nothing." I ask the question, "Am I enjoying what I'm doing?" Usually, the answer is yes. My husband retired this January. We spend much of the morning talking and drinking coffee...and drinking coffee...and drinking coffee. These are the times we value the most. Since I'm not a morning person, anyway, I save work for the afternoons. Don't feel guilty, Hank. Enjoy!

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  20. I have spent plenty of time trying to do everything and feeling like a pin ball bouncing from one thing to another. Now I enjoy doing nothing. If someone else wants me to do something, I can set aside my nothing and go do something with them and enjoy that as well.

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  21. Brenda, you’ve provided a new perspective: “I can set aside my nothing …and enjoy that as well.” Wise words. Thank you, Elisabeth

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  22. I feel like I need to re-evaluate my entire existence. LOL. Great post, Hank!

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  23. Doing nothing makes me itchy! I don't understand the concept.

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  24. My hang-up is going to a movie during the day, which I’m doing this afternoon. It feels like cutting class or something. I haven’t been to a movie since before the pandemic and this one isn’t playing anywhere else at any time and I am determined to go at 4 o’clock. It looks sweet - no blood and gore, no car crashes, not even a super hero…no market for it. But I know I’ll feel defensive and will be having mental conversations with myself about how I deserve it, yada yada!

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  25. I love waking up in the morning. I lay in bed and let my thoughts find their way. I listen to the radio. Thoughts meet together somehow as I recognize that’s me and hope I can do something with it that will find me happy… to go to bed instead of doing more. Satisfied. You know?

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  26. I’m quite accomplished at “doing nothing” (which means I am reading, listening to a podcast, walking the dog, communicating with friends, doing laundry/dishes) according to my husband. He’d rather I was cleaning the house. I’m retired and he’s still working (didn’t think that through when I married a “younger man” all those years ago!) so he wants to see results when he comes home. Somehow showing him my GoodReads account of what I have read doesn’t impress him… I am very much in favor of naps, too! (I pay for all of this at 2:00 a.m. when my brain won’t stop buzzing with all of the things I should-have-done-yesterday-and-definitely-will-get-done-today thoughts.) — Pat S.

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    1. Hey, your Goodreads accomplishments should be just FINE. (and he can bring home pizza....:-) )

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  27. This is so timely! I had hernia surgery a week ago Thursday, and I’m having a hard time with the “resting” part of recovery. There’s so much work to be done at home. For over a year I’ve been slowly working on decluttering. Much of what still needs to be done is too strenuous for me right now. I feel well enough to be able to do it, but I’m only allowed to do simple things around the house. And I AM supposed to be resting. I’ve been slowly learning over the past week that it’s okay to do “nothing”. I’m crocheting, I’m rereading favorite books (I can’t concentrate on something new right now), and when I need a break I actually stretch out on the couch and meditate! I can never, ever clear my mind of all thoughts, but I try to think of meditating as giving myself a block of time to just BE! I used to meditate twice a day; now I’m down to once a day when I remember to do it. I’m hoping that this short period of recuperation will go me to re-establish some healthy habits, including meditating.

    DebRo

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    1. Just being! That is a great thing... and when you are giving direct orders, what can you do? Nothing! xx Hope you are recovering...

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  28. My parents could not figure out how I made a living, being an historian. It is the perfect job--long hours of reading, deciphering someone else's handwriting. I have periods of just staring into space, but I don't think of it as doing nothing. The ideas are percolating, I'm analyzing and interpreting. So when not a lot of words land on the page during any given day, it is a thinking day. That being said, I was introduced to China Camp by my cousin and her husband, who grew up nearby. It is a magical place. I think I could spend a lot of time there, not thinking.

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  29. What an interesting post and comment thread today. "Doing nothing" is, itself, an interesting phrase, no? While 'nothing' is in there, so is 'doing' which implies action. So, doing nothing is not, actually, not doing anything. It is doing something -- resting, reading, contemplating, letting the mind wander, sitting, watching the view, etc. We all need -- and Creatives especially need -- fallow time for the juices and sparks to be fertilized in the back of our minds and our imaginations.

    When I want time out from activity, I 'zone out' with some gentle entertainment on the screen. I enjoy it for a stretch and then suddenly it's enough, and I feel ready to return to action of some kind, whatever that may be.

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    1. OH, that's wise and I agree, the ability to zone out really makes a difference. You can feel it! And you can feel when it's time to be over.

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    2. Yes, that is so wise! I talked to a vey vey famous author about this, and she said she needs time for the well of her mind to refill. That makes so much sense!

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  30. We seem to have much to say about "nothing." ;-) The hardest part of retiring was changing from human do-ing to human be-ing after the busy time of teaching. The work of planning and grading was endless, and then the six classes a day to teach and to keep busy, vitally important as students with nothing to do can be a big problem. This was especially important with jr. high students, so I filled my room with interesting materials for those who finished early and gave LOTS of extra credit. Now, free to read all I want, write reviews for the books I loved (Hank's HOUSE GUEST), nap, and aqua in a bit. FYI, Hank, you were not doing nothing, you were healing, which is most important work. <3

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    1. Human doing to human being: very good! I wrote an essay about my first year of retirement that relates to that concept
      https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-im-struggling-with-the-new-found-freedom-that-retirement-brings/.

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    2. OH, YAAAYYYYY thank you! Whoo hoo. Thank you. xoooo. ANd yes, healing, and I know my mouth needs all the rest it can get. (No jokes from you all....xoxo)

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  31. After years of planning my life around deadlines, due dates, and child's school, I embrace the art of doing "nothing." I could give a sloth a run for its money. Only it wouldn't be a run. Maybe a crawl. I procrastinate with the excuse of "tomorrow's another day." Perhaps I should feel guilty but I don't. On the other hand my husband gets antsy and can't settle down to do nothing. I guess opposites attract.

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    1. Oops. This is Pat D.

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    2. I burst out laughing at "giving a sloth a run for its money." HA! xxxx

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  32. Interesting. Some of us were raised with the lesson "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop", this meant picking up a piece of embroidery could stave off the eyes of judgement. Others, perhaps the lucky ones were allowed to daydream. It was okay to sit and build castles in the air. Now in the 21st Century, starring at ones screen has replaced the 'brown study'.

    Some of you have mentioned meditation. I am at the point in my ordination training that I can now teach meditation. The first principle usually is 'clear your mind". I suggest a person can just become present to the present. To notice sensory impressions and let them go. Counting can keep the brain focused. What happens is the brain electrical waves move from one state to another. The theta waves found in meditation are actually a deep state of relaxation.

    Going to interrupt my Coraleesplaining and take a nap..my preferred method for doing something elegant.

    Hank! you had surgery!!! Cut yourself some slack. xxxooo

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  33. If you feel guilty sitting and reading a book, throw in a load of laundry and tell yourself you are multi-tasking. đŸ˜€

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  34. ARGHHHH> I have responded to ALL of your comments, and my responses just...disappear! GRACE! MAUREEN ! JUDY! I have responded to you three times and it publishes, and then poof! Every single one of these should have a reply and if it doesn't it means the stupid blogger ate it. I will be back and try again!

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