The “Sit Around & Do
Nothing”!
By
Allen Merritt ©2018
My mind is usually going 99.9 miles an hour; ideas
flying in, out and around bouncing from this to that. I am always taking notes
and scribbling down thoughts and ideas as a result. I think this a good thing since I am a creative type and such activity usually makes me happy. Score one
up for positivity in motion.
For me, the idea of sitting down and doing nothing
amounts to reading a book or watching mindless television, which is actually me
doing something. At least there is some kind of mental processing going on
there simply by taking it all in.
I remember my mother asking me from time to time, “What
are you thinking?” To this I would answer, “Nothing.” Her response was, “It is
not possible for you to be thinking about nothing.” However, for me, I believe
it was true. I could literally sit there and daze out, space out and think
about nothing. Oh, sure, something might pop into my mind or I might daydream,
but in essence, I could sit there and not think about anything in particular. My
mind would go blank for a while.
This reminds me of meditation and Buddhist
philosophy of emptying one’s self and cultivating aimlessness.
I bring this up because I recently took a little
road trip which began with a job. Following that I made my way to visit various
family and friends I had not seen in a long time. Since I seldom take
vacations, this was a great opportunity to combine work, visitation and a get a
little time off simultaneously. I was feeling the importance of making time and
taking time to share quality moments with those I care about considering how time
flies by so quickly and life being shorter with each passing day.
Anyway, my first stop was in Oklahoma. We sat there,
talked and watched television without any plan. At first it was a little odd,
because I am not used to sitting there and doing nothing at all. My body thinks
it should be accomplishing something. It takes a little discipline to not do
anything.
This continued on the second leg of my trip to
Arkansas. I sat and literally did nothing but sit there for 5 days. In fact, my
family members made comment about the idea of doing nothing and I told them it
was fine with me as I did not get to do it much. And, little by little as time
went by I adjusted to moving forward without any plan or forethought. I visited
and spoke as it made sense to. I sat there, read a book, watched television,
gazed out the back porch window and literally observed life moving outside with
critters buzzing around, locusts screeching, trains passing, lightening
flashing and grass growing.
Downtime and relaxation is the idea of taking time
to stop and let go for a while. This is what doing nothing should be about as
opposed to doing nothing to be lazy.
There are many positive benefits to this. It gives
us a chance to chill out, breathe and practice mindfulness, relieves our
stress, improves our internal voice (intuition), helps to ground us in truth
and reality and aides in getting in touch with our real emotions. ¹
We experience stillness and silence and less over-stimulation and desensitization. We enhance the quality of our lives by taking
some time to sit around and do nothing.
There appears to be a certain sense of healing our
depleted systems by doing nothing. Therefore, it is important to purposefully
and intentionally making time to do this "nothingness".
I found an article worth sharing conveying some of
these benefits. It states, “…reduced heart rate, better digestion, improvements
in mood, and a boost in overall emotional well-being – which, of course,
affects everything on a biochemical and physiological level, thereby serving as
a major deciding factor on whether or not we fall ill, and/or remain ill.
Mental downtime also replenishes glucose and oxygen levels in the brain, and
allows our brains to process and file things, which leaves us feeling more
rested and clear headed, promotes a stronger sense of self-confidence, and instills
within us a deep trust in life."²
Score another point for positivity in motion!
So the next time you find yourself sitting around
and doing nothing, take a moment to treasure the opportunity to do so, because
it offers life enhancing elements to come alive in you. Here is a mantra you
can remember as you sit and breathe.
Breathing in, I do nothing
Breathing out, I let go³
Have a great week thinking about all the positive
possibilities of sitting around and doing nothing all the daylong!
Cheers!
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