What do people do when they don’t do anything? Is doing nothing really doing something?
Angela and I were discussing our ideas about “doing nothing” while we sat at a Barnes & Noble having tea. For the most part, we ignored the others around us. I was intrigued with the slim bald man at an adjacent table who read a book and took notes. I wanted to know what book he was reading, but I promised myself that I would concentrate on what Angela was saying.
Angela’s view – “For me, doing nothing is doing something outside of my daily routine. For example, I work in my (basement) studio for five hours. I go upstairs. I don’t know what to do. For me that is ‘doing nothing’ time. So I start thinking about how ‘to do nothing.’ I cook or I read. I need to do something outside of my realm of expectations. I can't do ‘nothing’. I have to do something. No down time."
Healan’s view – “It’s hard to ‘do nothing’ because my brain will not shut down. Thoughts cascade through my mind and to shut them off would be to stifle ideas that are waiting to be born.”
My attention wandered to the bald man who shifted the book slightly. Now I could read the word “Intelligence…” in the title. Before I could look away, he looked up and stared past me. I could see his facial muscles relax. His eyes appeared to glaze over and unfocus. It looked liked the perfect time to ask him the question.
“What do you do when you do nothing?”
“I day dream,” he said. Then he told us that he was just ending a 27-year marriage and was trying to start over.
Angela and I scrambled to keep the conversation focused on the problem of “doing nothing.” The man sighed at our apparent disinterest in his personal situation. He repeated his view that day dreaming was synonymous with “doing nothing.” He returned to his book and flipped to another page.
Back to the cocoon of our dialogue, Angela and I continued our discussion about “nothing.” Finally Angela got a good working definition. “You need to allow yourself to not worry about anything,” she said. “You are just there. Being just there is doing ‘nothing.’”
