The Art of Doing Nothing

Reconnecting With The Beauty Of Now

We've forgotten how to be.

And it's not just that we no longer give ourselves the space to be, it's that we've become a bit afraid of it. Think about it. The moment we feel that familiar restlessness creeping in our nerves, we reach for our phones. We turn on music. We find something, anything, to fill the space of silence and presence.

Of course, that space we compulsively fill isn't empty. It's full of everything we're too distracted to notice.

Tomorrow morning, try this experiment. When you wake up and make your coffee or tea, don't automatically reach for your phone. Don't turn on the news or put on a podcast.

Sit down with your warm cup and do absolutely nothing.

Watch the light move across the floor as the sun rises. Notice how the shadows shift and change. Feel the warmth of the drink in your hands. Listen to the sounds of nature that sing when they aren't drowned out by noise.

Your mind will resist this. It will tell you you're wasting time, that you should be checking email, being productive, or getting informed. This resistance is precisely why this presence practice is so valuable.

We've trained ourselves to believe that every moment needs input. In doing so, we've lost the ability to appreciate the richness of existing in the abundance of the present moment.

Nothing will happen in this quiet time of presence. No emails will be answered. No problems solved. No information consumed. And yet, if you allow yourself to fully settle into this simplicity, you'll discover that more has happened than you have experienced in a long time.

You'll remember what your own thoughts sound like. You'll notice tension in your body that you didn't realize you were carrying. An insight might arise that you haven't given the chance to surface.