Is 'Doing Nothing' So Bad? 3/28

The Nothing Dilemma

I think too often people are hung up on getting ahead. Rushing from place to place, seeing all there is to see, not taking time to enjoy a moment or reflect internally. For every minute spent working, a corresponding amount should be spent processing what you have just done. In an era that glorifies efficiency, the notion of ‘doing nothing’ seems inane and carries a negative connotation when in reality it should be the opposite. Personally, I enjoy exercising, playing instruments, hanging out with friends, all as opportunities to relieve myself from other duties and let loose. By recharacterizing ‘doing nothing’ as an essential and necessary part of regular human behavior, we can recognize that inactivity is not only a good use of time but a necessary one.

Just this last week, I visited China for spring break with my Mom and Dad. When not trying to figure out how to order food in chinese or splaying out jetlagged on our hotel couch, we were visiting monuments all across Beijing. The Great Wall, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, we saw it all. Yet between us, we had very different mentalities for how this trip was meant to go. My mom wanted to take things slowly, see things carefully, all at a relaxed rate. My dad on the other hand treated the trip like a checklist. He would visit a monument and turn around instantly. He jogged the length of the Great Wall and immediately got on the next gondola down. Yet is it so wrong to ‘do nothing’ in these places? Is the extra time for reflection and to take in the sights worth it? I think yes. If you do not take time to appreciate the things in front of you, then you will have wasted the time spent to get there anyways.

I guess it all comes down to how you define ‘doing nothing’. Is doing nothing time spent during hobbies for personal pleasure such as listening to music or napping, or is it simply staring at a wall and waiting for time to tick by. Maybe it depends from person to person. I find nothing wrong with the former. Both as ways to relax but enjoy oneself, they allow a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. For me, everyday after school sophomore year at exactly 4:05, I would take the bus home. It was not the quickest route, in fact it was not quick at all. I could have called my dad to pick me up, but instead I would wait the full hour to get home, watching cars go by through the big windows. And yet I still stuck to it because I enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. Maybe this too is related to staring at a wall. Is that staring really all so bad if you enjoy it? 

At the end of the day, I believe this all ties back to what makes somebody satisfied in life. Is it societal success, arbitrary boundaries of greatness and recognition, set by oneself in order to push themselves. Or is it happiness? Pursuing the things you enjoy. Maybe those two things are intertwined: success and hard work makes you happy, or taking things at your own rhythm makes you successful. I find nothing wrong with doing nothing from time to time, just as long as you enjoy it. But that’s just me. To each their own.