in praise of not doing
What if you just stop…yes, you , stop ‘doing’ — worrying, yelling, podcast listening, facebook trolling, instagram gazing, rss feed chewing, phone hugging , optimizing, chasing a delusion; what if you could just sit down, look outside; watch a squirrel rummaging the trash, stare at the neighbour’s cat in the windowsill , or watch the young one trying to parallel park next to a fire-hydrant.
Perhaps you would get anxious, not doing, not fussing, not ruminating, not planning … but that too will pass, it has to. We can’t live full on without our neuronal equilibrium resuming.
What will you do with all that time ?
- call a friend from long ago
- talk to a stranger
- walk or bike instead of drive
- write in your diary or write something that helps others
- have a real conversation with your lover
- give instead of buy
- fold your clothes the Marie Kondo way
wait, didn’t I say inaction, the above is action — yes, but different, not fussing or reacting, just being or allowing, not forcing— hmm, isn’t this a type of wu-wei …”be like water” [or something like that]
OR, you could … just…sit there, watching how ludicrous your thoughts are, how energy draining worrying can be , how you are just needlessly activating those anxiety cells and how ‘doing’ can be another addiction — and maybe, just maybe, this is the ultimate meditation — no lululemon [congrats though on their great quarter] , no chanting , no gurus [but this guy I like], just you and you.
Psst, OR you could try out Insight Timer and Pranayama apps [I get no perks, just use them daily and recommend them to my patients]to truly get your YOU on without doing anything but sitting there…
