I’ve not wasted a single minute in my life!
Have you??
Have you ever sat idle?
Yes, multiple times. I would say that most of the time, I’m not productive.
Okay, when you sit idle, what do you do?
Not any particular thing. I may scroll on social media, watch a movie, or enjoy snacks.
If you’re doing something, then how is it sitting idle?
Oh, I understand. You are talking about not doing anything at all. Yes, sometimes I relax and not do anything.
If you are relaxing, then is it sitting idle? You feel good when you relax, right?
Yes, absolutely
Filling good is an important task. And you do that while you relax. So, how it is equivalent to sitting idle? I’m talking about movements from which you don’t expect anything—not even the good feeling of relaxation.
I see. Yes, I’ve been in those movements. I attended a meditation course for ten days a couple of months ago. I meditated for about 10 hours a day. During all of these hours, I was just sitting idle.
Okay, why were you doing this meditation?
It improved my overall mental health, helped me see my thoughts, and gave me a lot of peace.
Looks like you were doing the meditation for some very important things. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a good mental health. But if there were so many motivations there then how is this equivalent to sitting idle? I’m talking about some time that you may have spent without expecting anything from it.
But wouldn’t that be a waste of time?
Okay, let’s take it that way. Have you ever wasted your time?
Should I?
I’m just asking whether you’ve done it or not. I’m not suggesting that you should be doing it.
Hmm.. No, I have not. And I don’t think anybody should be doing it.
Do you think nobody has ever done it?
How could I say about anyone else?
Have you seen any other human being ever sat idle?
My aunt is in the hospital, so she has no choice but to sit idle. My friend’s grandpa is also not in good health now, so he also sits idle all day.
Are they ok with this?
No, not at all.
I’m talking about sitting idle by our own choice?
I see. You’re being spiritual now.
You are talking about a situation where one is living in the present movement, paying attention to whatever is happening around him, and being constantly aware. This is something that gives us inner peace.
Peace looks like the most important thing. Spending time to get it should be considered as a investment, not a waste. I’m talking about sitting idle here, from which we don’t expect anything at all, not even peace.
Nothing, like nothing? Not even giving us any contentment or satisfaction as well?
No, nothing. In short, not expecting anything at all from just a couple of minutes. As you said, a total waste of by our own choice.
But why would anybody do that? It is a time waste. It is just like giving up on life. It is a short suicide.
I don’t know. But do you think anybody has ever done that?
No, I don’t think anybody is that crazy.
People are crazy enough to commit suicide itself.
But that suicide is different. It is not like sitting idle. It is like running from the unbearable pain.
So sitting idle and committing suicide are different?
Oh, you got me there. Yes, it looks like both of these are different.
There were a couple of monks who chose the life of beggars. They sacrificed everything and lived in forests. They had no desires. I think most of their time should have been spent doing nothing.
Why did they leave their home again?
Not sure. Maybe for something that is not in reach of our understanding.
But it was “for something”. Something for which sacrificing everything was nothing. Would you say that is a waste of time?
No, not at all.
How is this sitting idle, then?
Now, I’ve understood. You’re talking about the enlightened ones, like Buddha himself. Someone who didn’t have to do anything at all. Someone who is already satisfied with everything.
Would you say Buddha wasted his life after getting enlightened?
No man. He has spent a life that we still remember. He has not even wasted one second of his life. But he didn’t have any desires. He was just working for us.
Whatever may be the reason? Would you say he was sitting idle?
No, I wouldn’t say that. So you’re saying no human being has ever sat idle?
I’m not saying. I’m just asking.
I don’t know, man. What would you say about it?
I also don’t know. But one thing I can say for sure is that I’ve never sat idle. I’ve not even spent a minute where I let the time go without expecting anything from it. There have been some movements where I thought I was not “doing” anything. But after observing carefully, it looks like I was doing many things in those movements as well. As you said, I was either relaxing, enjoying, being lazy, or doing anything else. I’ve never wasted any time with my own choice.
But what is stopping us from doing it right now? We can just sit for a minute here doing nothing.
What would we get by doing it?
The experience of how it feels like to sit idly.
Does it mean we would enter the phase of sitting idle to get a specific kind of experience? How is it sitting idle?
Oh! God. I didn’t think about it that way. So we can’t do it in our entire lifetime?
It is not about doing? It is about not doing.
Yeah, yeah. Does that mean we can’t be in a state of not doing in our entire lifetime?
At least not with a specific aim of getting the experience of nothingness.
Is it even important to sit idle?
I don’t know. But don’t you think it is absurd that we haven’t even spent one minute without expecting anything from that minute?
Yes, kind of. But I think we are built that way. We can’t afford to waste time. Evolution hasn’t favored those who wasted their time….
Even for a minute? We can scroll social media for hours. But we can’t waste a single minute?
I don’t know, man. But I’ve surely wasted enough time on this conversation now. I’ve to do other important stuff. Bye.
Bye
