I don’t get people who always complain about being too busy. They are always running from here to there and back again.
Why?
It seems that in the end it only seems to cause some kind of resentment. These people are over tired and over worked.
I say do less, not more.
You really need to take time for yourself first. It is okay to laze around. I said so.
Sit quietly with your coffee and read the paper or just sit and watch the birds.
Take a super hot bath with no distractions!
How does that sound?
This was my long weekend from my soul sucking day job and the weather here in Nova Scotia was perfect.
Sunny and very warm. On Friday we went to the beach and it was amazing.
This a photo of the actual beach. Rissers beach provincial park. It has a pretty good campground if anyone is interested.
I was so content. Time seemed to stand still. I could easily see myself just reading a book every day at the beach.
So on Saturday I went to the beach.
And on Sunday…well you guessed it.
And guess what I am doing later today.
People suggest that I would eventually get bored. Well I would like to give it a try.
We need mindfulness. We need quiet. No music, no television. No bleeping cell phones. No distractions of any kind.
Time to reflect and perhaps just to be grateful for all that we do have.
I had no radio in my car for a few days as the battery was disconnected for some work and I did not have the code to restart the radio.
It was actually kind of nice. Just silence. What an interesting concept.
What you will probably find is that when you do jump back into your regular life after these moments of idleness you will be recharged and reenergized.
So I am urging you to take a step back and do nothing.
It’s okay.
I said so.
Please share this post with the world.
Thanks and have an awesome day.
Live simply
Change The Code 
Silence is a beautiful and reflective thing that doesn’t happen too often in our lives anymore. Just being is important, being busy is stressful and carving out some time for you seems…. selfish nowadays. I say it’s time for ME TIME! Going to get my coffee now! Thanks!
I couldn’t agree with you more! Have a great time at the beach…
“We need to find God, and He can not be found in restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature- trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~Mother Teresa
Reblogged this on Holistic me and commented:
Practice makes perfect
It’s very true and good for brain balance, too! A lot of people think they are being unproductive when they are doing “nothing.” We’re almost addicted to action, interaction and WORK. But we need balance. Beach looks nice.
SO true! As a full-time employee and mom, there is always something for me to do or someone to take care of. I try hard to carve out time for myself (blogging has helped, sort of!). We love to go camping for that opportunity it provides to do absolutely …. nothing! 🙂
I prefer to compliment these moments with a good book, and possibly even a cigar.
But the being away from everybody and everything is the most important aspect.
Love it! 2 of my fave things: the beach and dancing.
When I read the title the first thing came to my mind is our Senate.
To do nothing & enjoy is an art for sure. 🙂
Amen, sister!
Woops! Make that: Amen, brother! (I found this post through wholisticme, who is a female, so I had that gender in my mind. 😉 )
Love it! Life is hectic here in Cairo and I’m constantly on the go. But Im going to relax on the sofa now with a book and just take the time out. Why? Because you said so 🙂 keep the posts coming
stop, look, listen—smell a rose. The hummingbirds have returned, the wrens returned last month. The robins returned in March. My irises are blooming……..ahhhhh, relax
I recently heard a speaker at a women’s convention stress the importance of taking “pause” in our work days to relax because so few do – but I make it a priority to take breaks through out the day because other wise you run on empty and then you aren’t much use to any one and on days off I relish the spare time, especially if we can get out to the country and have a total disconnect from everything – that’s extra nice.
Great post. My heart rate went down just reading it. THANK YOU for that!
Perhaps it’s difficult to do nothing because we’re conditioned in today’s society to always look ahead to the next thing: The next goal, the next purchase, the next project. Our minds are always moving, like a horse on a racetrack. We have forgotten the ability to live in the middle of time, to bask in the sun, to be mindful of the present. Maybe then we wouldn’t be so stressed out and constantly needing release. I’m actually reminded of a quote I heard before: “Instead of wondering where your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”
Great quote. I’m quite content right now with living. Making food, gardening, heck, even doing dishes.
Of course, in the digital age, it’s even easier for our minds to move to the next thing, but you don’t have to have 7 windows open on your computer or cell phone on at all times.
I’m someone who needs a lot of downtime. I sed to feel like a slacker compared to people who seem to thrive at always being on the go, but I’ve come to embrace it. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who values this.
I’m with you! I also need a lot of down time… If I don’t get it, I become disoriented and confused.
Sometimes all you need is someone else to say it’s ok – thanks! Hope that eventually we all learn to give ourselves permission.
I have always been very task oriented and this continues to be a challange for me. To just be…… Thank you for the reminder!
Yay – sounds like a perfect weekend 🙂 Good for the soul!!
…. And I thought that I was the queen of doing nothing! Seriously, I am tired of hearing people complain about being too busy, as well. They act like they have no choice in the matter and come off like they need to be nominated for martyrdom. For too long I’ve watched the women of my family and friends give so much to their families and do nothing for themselves. After neglecting themselves for most of their lives, when it came time to to enjoy their retirement, they simply couldn’t do it. So sad that they forgot what their passions were and withered away in boredom and a lack of purpose. Wasted senior years.
I say take care of yourself and you can take care of others.
If we constantly seeking escape from boredom through leisure and distraction, then we’ll never be content. What do you do if all of a sudden you are disconnected and things are quiet?
Is it possible to acheive true silence while alive? You can always hear your heartbeat and breath….
I HATE getting up earlier than I have to for work. In fact it got so bad that when I got up in the morning I’d barely have time for a shower, skipped breakfast and if lunch wasn’t made the night before then tough! One thing I love about weekends is having a slow breakfast with a good book to read.
For the last few months I’ve set my week day alarm half an hour earlier so that I can have a nice relaxed breakfast while I read my book and it’s made a HUGE difference to my day. I start the day feeling like I’ve had my me-time already instead of waiting til the end of the day to have my me-time – which invariably didn’t happen. It’s made getting to work on time easier (and probably safer as I’m much more awake behind the wheel!) and more pleasant as I’m chilled out so I don’t care about the backed-up traffic. Make some “me time” for yourself, you won’t regret it!
A suggestion that’s easy for me to do…I have a beautiful porch that I sit on for hours watching the birds and squirrels. My blog is called “OnThePorch2” for a reason.
I have perfected the fine art of doing … nothing
I couldn’t agree more. A lot of people have the goal of doing more when most of the time, we should be doing less in order to really live. And what’s wrong with doing less anyway? And doing nothing? =>
Thank you for this post. It reminded me that I DO create busyness for myself. If I wasn’t always obsessing about “needing” to be here or there or “needing” to get something or do something, I could create a space for silence, for nothingness. And that was my goal on cleaning out my apartment of all my junk, stuff I don’t use or need.
My goal for this summer is to create an empty space in my life that will be filled with what I love and who I love.
I LOVE your blog!
Thank you Miss Vegan!
I dig it man. I too enjoy the occasional chill. Of course the very act of doing nothing is something and as you say can be quite energizing. I am particularly fond of the saying, “I have nothing to do, and all day to do it.”.
Ahh, fellow beachgoer- the great eastern shore is where my wife and I will be spending this coming weekend. It’s looking to be a fantastic one down this way!
Nice! Enjoy it.
Well, the sun was agreeable, but the violent surf and wind-driven sand pretty much ruined it for us!
We are living the same life, you and I…except I’m not at the beach. My battery was changed in my car several weeks ago and I too haven’t taken the time to figure out the code, so no radio. I have a two year-old so “quiet” is a cherished commodity. I’m not ashamed to say that I love my own thoughts and being in them with just me. I could sit on that beach every day and never get bored. One of my most favorite spots in the world is on the balcony of a little condo called El Faro at the top of a hill on the Santiago Peninsula overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Manzanillo, Mexico. And when it’s a dark clear night and the moon glistens on the water, you are pretty sure you are as close to heaven as you will ever be. As an addendum to your thought, I’m not sure how parenting works in many other countries, but in the U.S. most parents completely overschedule their children in my opinion. We seem to have this bizarre cultural development of “keeping up with the Joneses” in kids activities. It makes me crazy! Kids have one chance to be kids, and we sure all know as adults that we would give anything to go back there for just a day or two. Still loving your blog! – Amanda
Okay now I want to go the condo in Mexico and just sit and listen to the ocean!
I love still moments. I haven’t had the pleasure of having those quiet moments recently. Things around here have been really busy with the kids. I find myself sneaking a way for any moments I can spare just for some quiet time to think. It makes those moments much more valuable!
Love this! We seem to be allergic to this sort of thing in the US. Sadly, this means the arts and so much of culture is going into the dumps because all forms of art and really culture in general requires periods of doing nothing. Music is important, literature is important. Yes, these things don’t contribute anything measurable, but that’s why they’re important. Not everything in life CAN be measured, and that goes doubly for what is most important!
Reblogged this on Sapna's Blog and commented:
“We need mindfulness” 🙂
You’re passing on a beautiful message! Thank you.