Do Nothing

Do nothing. It is a new approach that can change the way you respond to life. We carry so many responsibilities on our shoulders. Nearly every day, we are trying to do this or that. Even someone who is considered lazy by worldly standards still has things to do. The doing list seems neverending. The more you do, the more there is to do. Great results can come from doing things and so the list of things to do continues.

Our to-do lists can be long or short, depending on our personal preference, but the list still exists. Every day we have something to do, some sort of habit, idea, work that we have, or even something we assign ourselves to do. The fact that you are reading this right now means this too was on your to-do list (though the list could be a mental one).

It is not only that we do things in terms of actions or activity, but we also think things all the time.

Yes, thinking and doing are very important parts of being human. This aspect has helped us survive, achieve, move forward in life, but it has also hindered us. Our society puts so much emphasis on achievement that doing can even be viewed on a similar level as breathing!

Times that we are not doing something productive, there is often this guilt and shame for wasting our time. For not doing.

In the midst of all the doings, when do we really get to just be?

Being comes with doing nothing. No agendas, no pursuit of achievements, and no chasing after this thought to that idea. No pressure to be a certain way and follow a certain set of guidelines.

And to do nothing is actually really hard. When you are procrastinating, you are doing something other than what you think you should be doing, which is still doing. When you are sad and depressed and you don't do the things you think you are supposed to be doing, you are still thinking a lot.

With our time, most of us are doing something or thinking something.

When do we get to just be?

To truly just be is like being naked. Ridding yourself of all the distractions, all the to-do list, responsibilities, and freeing yourself of all the chaos that our minds create.

Being is hard, but being is needed. Our minds, hearts, souls need silence to function well. We need to be, to do, and think better. We need to be to find ourselves. To connect inwardly. To listen. To heal. To accept. To move forward.

I challenge you even just a minute or two to just be.

Reflective Questions

How are you like when you don't have any tasks to do?

If you take away the distractions, which version of you would be left?