It all depends upon the person allowing themself to experience the downtime.

We all have time on our hands. But do we ever do anything of particular relevance with that time? That is, anything of particular usage, or benefit, to us and or to others, with that time that we have to 'spare'?

I'll bet not. Speaking from experience, that time is not time well spent.

When there comes time that one finds oneself in a place of 'not having anything to do', one sure as heck finds something to do.

Even if it's cleaning out the dresser drawers and ironing the underwear you find in a bunch in the top drawer. And the socks too. Better iron those.

You see, none of us do particularly well when there is nothing to do.

Or nothing to be done.

Or nothing to be gained from doing nothing.

Especially us men.

We're programmed to feel guilty and unproductive when there's nothing to do. We're told that we should be making use of our time. And use of our mind. We're not supposed to be wasting precious minutes doing nothing.

We're told and it's ingrained in our little brains from a very early age, that doing nothing is wrong.

But, let's question that. Is it?

What is it about doing nothing that is viewed as being 'wrong'?

What is it about not doing anything that is not right?

I answer - nothing. Nothing is wrong with doing nothing.

I think that doing nothing is doing something.

I think that doing nothing is very productive and useful and beneficial and worthwhile. Nothing is the calming of the mind. Nothing is when the mind has ceased in its ever-present production of actions and things to do lists that we fall victim to and feel compelled to comply with fulfilling.

Nothing is the space in time, between the doings, when we are given a golden opportunity to do something that will benefit us wholeheartedly, in the long run.

Nowadays, doing 'nothing' is a bad word. But it is such a good experience to truly allow ones Self to do nothing.

Think about it. It's really pretty simple to do nothing.

Even think about the term doing nothing.

One would think, or question, perhaps - "how do you DO nothing?" Isn't that doing something, if you're 'doing' it?

Technically, I suppose it is. But, simplistically, it isn't.

You see, we all know exactly what it is that I'm writing about here.

Doing nothing is simply that. Just doing nothing, when nothing presents itself as an opportunity to experience.

We all have those moments, usually at the end of our day, where we have an opportunity to just 'wind down'. But what do most of us do with that time, or those moments? We busy them up doing something.

We take the golden opportunity to do something and we fill it with something. And that something is usually mindless television viewing and channel flipping. Or being on the Internet website surfing.

How about instead of doing this you take the opportunity that is in front of you, that break in the busy-ness of your life, and simply do nothing.

Just 'be'.

Just allow yourself to experience the emptiness of the present moment that is in front of you.

The present moment is full of so so much that it really can't all be taken in at once. It's so complete it's scary. And it scares most of us too. That's why we're all so busy.

Personally, I've had plenty of time to ponder the vacant and empty moments in my life, and there have been many. They are so rich with Life though. They are so complete. They are a doing of a magnitude and scale that my mind could never create.

One of my favorite authors - Guy Finley - said once, several years ago that "Heaven is the space between two thoughts."

I say that the space he mentions is actually 'nothing'. Yet, nothing is everything.

Nothing is all. There is everything that one could want to be found in the moments containing nothing in one's life.

And what would that nothing be? It's your nothing, so that depends upon you.

Your mind isn't going to like it when you allow and work at having the nothings be just what they are during your day.

Not busying them up with thought, or doing, or thinking, or pondering, or fantasizing. None of that.

One doesn't have to get fancy and find a special cushion to sit on in a special room at a special time, in a special pose. Of course, if that works and has worked for you, great. But, it doesn't have to be that way.

The opportunities for nothing happen throughout our days here, every day, all our life. One doesn't need special training to do nothing. Or a guru. Or even a book to have been read.

No.

Just allow nothing to exist for you.

And know that what comes up is going to be about as individual as you are.

But, even in spite of this, what you will be experiencing, once you're able to make the most of your nothing moments will be absolutely everything.

It'll be an experiencing of the same nothing that we came from, and we're all aging towards.

It'll be the nothing that is timeless and is so full of Life.

I know this all may sound like a lot of nothing to you. But that's okay.

After all, it's up to you.

You can choose to do something. Or you can choose nothing.

Do yourself a favor, and choose nothing.

And then...watch.

Written by Andre Best
President, Ultimate Results, Inc.
http://www.andrebest.com
'Learn About Life From Another Perspective'

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