'the beauty of doing nothing'

Il bel far niente (the beauty of doing nothing) a traditional and romantic, Italian ideal.

The value of taking a minute, and doing nothing, is something I have heard multiple times, form multiple people, in multiple ways. And recently, all be it in very small amounts, going against all my natural instincts, it’s something I have started to try out.

It no secret to any one who knows me, or probably anyone who has ever met me, I can sometimes be quite ‘tightly wound’. I often struggle with managing stress, and finds that my highly organised default setting, can very much be a curse as well as a blessing.

I have always felt the need to write lists, pre plan, and be efficient, however this can sometimes lead me into a bit of a panic over small things, and sometimes over doing it trying to achieve the unattainable, never ending list of goals and tasks.

It wasn’t until recently that I realised how years of this kind of mindset has left me practically unable to just do nothing. Watching Tv until the second I go to sleep, never being able to just watch a film or listen to music without doing something else as well.

 I have read and heard lots about how meditation, focusing on your breathing, and ‘escaping’ from fast phase modern life, is essential to being healthy and happy, and avoiding a breakdown! But to be complete honest the idea of meditation left me feeling a bit overwhelmed. Meditation felt like a whole other entity, that I just don’t feel I have the time to learn about right now.

So, I have taken a very basic approach, and have tried to occasionally, when I remember, appreciate the beauty of doing nothing (Most of the time this hasn’t lasted more than a couple of minutes).

I have heard about clearing your mind, and focusing on breathing, but found that when someone who thinks as much and as fast as I do, this in itself was pretty stressful. I removed the pressure of not thinking, and instead just focus on simple not planning what to do next, and just letting my brain do its thing, instead of crowding it with other distractions.

This approach has helped. It helps me calm down and re balance, but in my own, pressure-free way. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that is actually more overwhelmed by the idea of meditation and mindfulness, but hopefully I will be able to work up to those techniques to help manage stress, at my own phase.