The lost art of doing nothing

You might sit on the verandah with a cup of tea, read the paper, watch the birds in the garden or simply stare into the distance for a while.

Nobody called it mindfulness and there was no app to remind you to relax.

You just sat there.

These days, doing nothing can feel surprisingly difficult.

The minute you sit down, you remember the washing needs bringing in.

Then you notice the weeds.

Then you think you should probably clean out that cupboard.

And before you know it, you’ve spent half an hour scrolling through your phone instead.

Perhaps we need to get better at doing nothing again.

Not because we haven’t got enough to do. Most of us have plenty.

But because not every spare moment needs to be filled.

A quiet coffee with no phone beside you. A few chapters of a book.

Sitting outside at the end of the day and watching the sun go down.

Listening to the radio, while doing absolutely nothing else.

There is something rather nice about it.

And if you feel guilty about sitting down when there are jobs to be done, remember this: there will always be jobs.

The dishes will still be there tomorrow.

The garden will survive another day.

And the emails aren’t going anywhere.

So put your feet up.

Enjoy the afternoon.

And if anyone asks what you’re doing, tell them you’re very busy doing nothing.