Is Doing Nothing Something?

Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace. -Unknown

You can destroy your now by worrying about tomorrow. -Janis Joplin

I'm currently dealing with a few stressors and learning to cope with them. Especially trying to leave work at work to try and maintain that live/work balance. Lately, I've been getting into yoga and meditation. I'm good at neither yet but have been having a great time trying. I'm very blessed to have a backyard oasis to relax in, where I can contemplate the answer to life, the universe, and everything.¹

One of the things I often contemplate is, is what I'm doing "something"? One of my worries is feeling judged for being lazy and not doing anything. Pretty sure that comes from being in the Navy for 8 years, where you were always doing "something". Whether it's sleeping, working, or cleaning something, usually you were generally busy.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I'm learning that it's OK to do "nothing". In fact, it seems to do nothing is actually doing something. People pay to travel and stay places where they can sit around on a beach, or a secluded little bungalow with a garden, or maybe a deck with a BBQ. Basically, people are paying to go somewhere and do nothing. So then doing nothing is something if you are not local? I guess it really depends on how you look at it.

I've come to find that relaxing and staring out into space or closing my eyes and listening to a bubbly fountain is not only calming and centering, but it also helps me just think. Cannabis magnifies this mindset and has led to a state of euphoria that has brought me to some really interesting thoughts, ideas, and in some cases very strong memories that seem to come from the deepest recesses of my brain.

What I'm saying is, it's really OK to just sit and do nothing. In fact, this is what I aspire to be; I want to be able to do nothing anytime I feel like it. I came to this conclusion while doing "nothing".