I suck at nothing. Uh, I should rephrase that. I totally suck at doing Nothing. I’m really good at doing Something- usually multiple Somethings simultaneously. Such as tweeting on Twitter while watching my daughter bathe and running to the kitchen to stir up a batch of veggie chili. But just being still and present and content? I’m absolutely no good at that- at all.
In fact, I just flipped open a book by Martha Beck called The Joy Ride, while I was waiting on a patient at Clear Center of Health. The book is about ten things you can do to make your life more joyful. And the first thing on the list is Nothing. I read two pages and shelved the book. I suck at Nothing! Why would I want to add Nothing to my endless to-do list? I’ve tried meditating, but even during corpse pose in yoga, when you’re supposed to have spent over an hour preparing your body for meditation, my brain is racing a bazillion miles per hour.
I’ve heard Jack Kornfield, the famous meditation teacher from Spirit Rock, speak about the challenges of doing Nothing. I like his style- he’s very gentle and forgiving and seems to understand those of us who don’t do Nothing well. When he coaches you to meditate, he invites you to name the thoughts that enter your brain. Such as “remembering” or “planning.” Trouble is, it seems I’m always either remembering or planning. Which doesn’t leave me much time to be in the present moment, which, he reminds us, is the only moment that actually exists RIGHT NOW. And I suppose that’s the point of why I might benefit from doing Nothing.
I hear you, universe. Really, I do. But I wasn’t in the mood to get yet another lecture about how I should be quiet and look for the still point in a turning world. So I slammed shut Martha Beck’s book, saw my patient, and headed off for a hike, to do Something. I drove to Muir Woods, donned my hiking boots, and loaded my Ipod into my fanny pack. It’s not enough for me to do just one Something (hiking). I have to do Something else (listen to my Pink Playlist). So I powered up the mountain, jamming to tunes with a skip in my step, but them BAM. My Ipod stopped playing right when it got to Britney Spears If You Seek Amy (love that song- it’s so naughty!). I shook the damn thing, banged on it a bit, tried turning it on and off, attempted to skip forward or back, but the friggin’ Ipod was jammed. It wouldn’t play or stop playing or switch playlists. It would do Nothing. After allowing my blood pressure to rise, exploding with a few expletives, and flushing with frustration, I finally stuffed my Ipod into my fanny pack and trudge forward, but the spring in my step disappeared. Now I’d have to get a new Ipod. And I’d have Nothing to do for the rest of my hour and a half hike.
I tried to make lemonade out of lemons. I would take Martha’s advice and try to do Nothing. I’d appreciate the beauty of the redwoods that towered over me. I’d take some deep breaths and try to clear my mind of clutter. When thoughts interrupted the stillness within me, I’d apply Jack’s advice- naming the thoughts “planning” or “remembering” and gently bringing my attention back to my breath. My legs were pumping up the hill, so I wasn’t exactly doing Nothing, but I’m sure I spent a whole three minutes almost meditating. I’d love to be able to report how the quiet time in my head brought me peace and the stillness opened up something previously untapped within me, but that would be a boldfaced lie. In truth, one thought that interrupted my meditation was how this tragic Ipod experience might turn into a blog post, and I spent the rest of the walk planning and writing in my head. So sue me. I told you I suck at Nothing!
When I finished my hike (and planned most of what you just read), I was unloading my fanny pack to put its contents into the car, when I noticed that, Lo and behold, my Ipod was jamming away back there in my fanny pack. What did I do to fix it? NOTHING. Somehow, left by itself in my fanny pack, it fixed itself. I had to laugh.
Maybe that’s what Martha Beck and Jack Kornfield and Jolie, my yoga teacher, and Jo Perron, my wise teacher, and all the other gurus in my life are talking about. Maybe sometimes all we need to do it Nothing, and suddenly, everything rights itself. Maybe we’re so busy doing Something that we fail to just let go. Maybe the best way to do Something is to stop Doing altogether. But then again, I suck at that.
Tonight, I’m going to pick up that Martha Beck book and crack it open again. Maybe there’s something to doing Nothing every day. I can’t imagine making the time for hours of daily meditation. Maybe some of you can make the time for that kind of stillness in your life- and more power to you! But I’m lucky if I can get 5 minutes of stillness, so I’m gonna start small and trust the universe (and all the gigantic hints it has given me about this lately). Stay tuned. I’ll let you know what happens (or should I say, what doesn’t happen).
When I asked my friends on Twitter for recommendations on how to be still, here’s what they said:
@sensuouswife Post-orgasmic haze is very helpful for that.
@jbranigan I make a list of little things I like to do, if I don’t have anything in mind already, I look at the list for some little fun thing.
@mikeyolo The only time I can do nothing is with video games… other than that I suck too.
@mom23greatgirls Seriously: Learn to care, but not that much. That, along with keeping as many tasks going as possible leads to nothingness.
@lesleehorner I meditate!
@redkencolorist Yoga. it destresses like a mofo.
@DorisJeanette Refuse to move. Breathe. Relax body, bones, muscles, nerves. Yelp. I’m in charge, not my out of control thoughts. I have an online course that teaches people how to Refuse to move.
@cbdesigns As ironic as it sounds, I have to make a conscious effort! It’s good to turn off everything – radio, tv, music.
@belladonnarose My dogs help me with that.
@sherigaynor Just did this yesterday…I chose to “BE, instead of DO” It was luscious.
@ChristaScalies I ALWAYS fall asleep. I find meditation sitting down very hard. That’s why I walk/hike.
@EmApocalyptic To slow down I traditionally get ill- not recommended. I’m trying to fix that pattern…
@imninnkeeper If i refuse to move any more i’ll weigh 400 instead of 300.
@jeankowalski Day Dream!!!!
@getonlinenow Do nothing…what is that? 
@singlexxx Take 1 deep breath and just close my eyes..relax my muscles and just be, lost in thought of no worries or stress..just self being.
@jessestrada Yoga; go somewhere peaceful and quiet to read or write; find some great inspirational quotes.
@susanhemann I sit on the porch and relax in my garden, I watch the birds,small animals and even two deer go by.
@bhtrezevant I like to hang out in my house and listen to James Taylor and day dream to relax.
@shekhinahshaman Sit with your feet in sand/grass/water. Connect with earth & sky. Suspend judgment of anything (including myself) and breathe. Slow down. Find something beautiful to you and gaze at it. You can get lost in beauty or think beautiful unrelated thoughts.
Okay, I’m off to Jolie’s yoga class at Yoga Garden, which includes a 15 minute meditation. Yikes! 15 whole minutes without an Ipod or a computer or a book or something to stop the racing thoughts! Wish me courage, Pinkies.
What about you? Have you ever found that all your problems get solved when you simply slow down and quit fighting the current? Tell us your stories of Something and Nothing.
Swearing to be still,
Lissa
Tags: Britney Spears, doing nothing, Jack Kornfield, Martha Beck, meditation, Spirit Rock, stillness, The Joy Ride, Twitter
After a solid year of a fairly regular meditation practice, I am coming to understand that our bodies and minds – by their very nature – aren’t down with doing nothing. Not at all. The beauty of meditation is that we have the opportunity not only to (gently!) train ourselves to be present, but also sort of observe our bodies and minds in their constant endeavors to DOOO something. Doing nothing affords us the opportunity to step back and look at the Something we’re trying to do. Once we’re outside of it enough to observe it, it can actually be kind of entertaining, and reveals so much about who we are. And when we’re too busy to do that, even for a second, sometimes the Universe intervenes by shutting off your iPod. Love it.
I LOVED your recap of the hike and the iPod. I can SOOOOOO relate! It’s hysterical how the universe works to send us messages.
As much as I love yoga, the Hatha variety and of late, Laughter Yoga (ha ha ha for the ta-tas!) I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to meditate in the traditional fashion. If you can’t sit in lotus and Om your brains out. Don’t.
However, I think hiking in silence is a way to bring your mind into a clear meditative state. It allows us to be in the “now”. I do think it’s important to clear the clutter from our minds and just be.
My advice (not that you asked for it mind you), is to leave your iPod at home a few days a week when you hike. Climb to the top of that lovely hill over Muir and just sit in silence and watch the ocean. Breathe the glorious west coast air and allow God (Jaba) to speak to you.
We often pray for things and ask questions but how often do we sit and listen for the answers?
In the silence, we often receive those answers.
Just my two cents. I could be wrong. *laughing*
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I might not be as bad as you about doing Nothing, or not doing Nothing, but I’m certainly not winning the serenity awards. Trying to find the time to still my mind & not let the monkeys run off with me can be challenging. Mainly cause if my mind is really racing, then it’s probably something I haven’t wanted to deal with on some level that’s setting my brain to spinning. Taking the time to stop & let my mind rest is something I’ll definitely have to work on.
It’s interesting the way yoga keeps popping up in my world between your laughter yoga posts & another friend, (formerly Lisa Faulkner) who just got licensed as a yoga instructor, it’s been on my mind a lot. I think that must just be a sign to put that one into action so that I can learn to let go & be in the moment while hopefully getting some of that good yoga mojo. This will also benefit me on so many other levels that I’m sure that it must be the right idea:-)
Meanwhile, I have to say that I started thinking about how you were growing up & I don’t think doing Nothing was ever a skill much practiced. You didn’t have Big Ed as a role model for doing absolutely Nothing…but then again he was the dad that read a book & watched TV at the same time so maybe not as Nothing as it seemed:-) Good luck with your Nothing pursuits…hmmm not really the right word, huh?
Namaste, Pink sisters…(practicing doing Nothing…failing miserably-but am trying to love myself in spite of my eternal Something). And OMG, Kittie, Lisa Faulkner is a yoga instructor. My, how we’ve grown… Send a big Ommmm her way for me…
What’s this about being impeccable at doing Nothing? What is your intent? What part of you feels the necessity to perfect the practice of doing Nothing?
This is my take on meditation/mindfulness/doing Nothing. Go for the snippets. It happens on a moment by moment basis. If you become aware of the ping pong of thoughts happening, just simply follow your breath. Maybe that lasts for a few breath cycles before the next onslaught of random thoughts come back and then you return to sensation and breath. So what if it becomes a million snippets of meditation per day. Doesn’t that mean something and isn’t it just as valuable as 1 solid hour of meditation. Maybe we should all get meters that measure our snippets of presence during the day. Sort of like a pedometer, but for counting our meditative moments.
Ah, yes, Jo. Many thanks (from all of us) for the reminder that perfection (and Nothingness) is not the goal. Peace is. And presence. Yes….