The beautiful bounty of doing nothing. . . .

     So, this last sultry sunny Sunday, I decided to indulge in an activity that lately has seen to be my lowest priority, which I don't understand because I love going. . . And that event is church. Those who know me well know that not to long ago, I hated even the idea of church. But now,  my spirit craves it. And every once in a while (OK, almost every week) I walk away from the service thinking about how that theme affects my life.

     And this Sunday was a whopper. After singing songs, and mediating, and giving tithe and all that, Jason Sheldon, who usually leads our choir, started talking about the fact that he was going on a five month sabbatical. He talked about how nerve-wrecking it was to prepare for and the things that he would miss. And then he said the question that he was asked most was: What are you gonna do on your break? He had reflected on that, and gave many different slightly varying answers, but he realized he was afraid to say the truth: a whole lot of nothing.

      He went on to talk about how we are trained that after childhood we are not allowed to play or rest. That as grown ups we are taught to keep busy, always find something to do, Idle hands . . . and so forth. Some of us are taught that that is our worth, how busy our schedule. He read an article, the author I can't remember, who talked about how he fought to keep his schedule full until he realized the reason he was doing it was so he could turn others away, legitimating claiming that he was "too busy" for them. He also realized that the fuller his schedule, the more excuses he had not to write, which was his passion.

     I could see myself in everything both Jason and the author of the article was saying.

     If I have two appointments and then something doing on in the evening, then my day is full, and I don't need to even try writing. . . because I'm just too busy.

     And this excuse is good for almost anything. Working out. Meditating. Learning new skills. There are always a plethora of excuses and lack of time.

     So . . . cheers to doing nothing. Because that frees the mind, and allows creativity inside. I have learned to cherish, celebrate, and relax. I don't always have to be doing something. Because sometimes by doing nothing, I'm recharging my brain and getting it ready to create something brilliant! And sometimes, doing nothing can be a reward all it's own.