Читать книгу Moments in Between - David Kundtz - Страница 15

Permission to Stop

The author's words are a complaint that he had to have justification for doing nothing. He and his friends could not do nothing just because they wanted to; they had to have a very good reason, such as divorce. Then they could justify taking time off, or “wasting valuable time”—they had an excuse. They had just gone through something painful, and people would be hesitant to criticize them. Their guilt would be minimal.

But then he wisely throws out that kind of thinking and gives himself permission—no justification necessary—for doing nothing.

Unnecessary self-restrictions and false guilt burden many of us and keep us from the peaceful times we yearn for. Quiet time to be alone is not an optional nicety; nor is it just for the retired, the lazy, or those naturally inclined. It is for all of us. It is valuable time well spent.

And above all, it needs no justification other than its own noble purpose: to become more fully awake and to remember what you most need to remember about yourself and your life.

The only way we could justify sitting motionless in an A-frame cabin in the north woods…was if we had just survived a really messy divorce.

—Ian Frazier

Do you need permission for doing nothing? Here it is! Use it today.