10 ways to enjoy doing nothing...

I picked up the August issue of Real Simple magazine today and found the best article that is right up my alley. It's called "10 ways to enjoy doing nothing" by Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler and author of How to Be Idle.

1. Banish the guilt. "... Aristotle, had praised the contemplative life, and the monks spent a lot of time just praying and chanting. Guilt for doing nothing is artificially imposed on us by a Calvinistic and Puritanical culture that wants us to work hard. When you understand that it hasn't always been this way, it becomes easier to shake it off."

2. Choose the right role models. "Most of the great musicians and poets were idlers. So feed yourself a diet of John Lennon, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, and the like."

3. Sketch a flower. "The act of drawing makes you observe the bloom in a way you never have before. All anxieties fly away as you lose yourself in close study. And at the end of it you have a pretty little sketch."

4. Go bumbling. "Bumbling is a nice word that means 'wandering around without purpose.' ... Try making a deliberate effort to slow down your walking pace. You'll find yourself coming alive, and you'll enjoy simply soaking in the day."

5. Play the ukulele. "The ukulele is the sound of not working."

6. Bring back Sundays. "Many religions still observe a Sabbath, whether it's Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. ... Take that ancient wisdom to heart and declare at least one day of the week as a do-nothing day. Don't clean the house or do the laundry; don't get in the car. Stay home and eat chocolate and drink wine. Be kind to yourself."

7. Lie in a field. "... do some good by taking a break from 'doing' and go and lie on your back in a field. Listen to the birds and smell the grass."

8. Gaze at the clouds. "Go outside and look up at the ever changing skies and spot the cirrus and the cumulonimbus."

9. Take a nap. "To indulge in a siesta after lunch is the most wonderful luxury: It softens tempers and guards against grumpiness."

10. Pretend to meditate. "For us westerners, meditation is an accepted way of doing nothing. Tell everyone you're going to meditate, then go into the bedroom, shut the door, and stare out the window or read or lie down for half an hour. You have excused yourself from household tasks and can indulge in contemplation, reflection, and that underrated pleasure, thinking, without fear of disapproval."

Thank you Tom Hodgkinson for making it okay to do nothing!