The simple life lesson for today, is that doing “nothing” is not a waste of time. It never has been. It never will be.

Our increasingly fast and furious lifestyles, and our commerce-pumping societal game rules try to tell us that relaxation, aka “doing nothing”, is a waste of time.

While I would agree that doing nothing all of the time is very unfulfilling, I worry that an aversion to doing nothing might be equally harmful.

If you think that it is a waste of time to have a think, or that listening to a nice album while just sitting around will harm your career, or that a day out in the spa sounds much less efficient than a shower, then you might want to slow it down…

Relax. Life is to be enjoyed. Even the extremely ambitious career-driven folk should always allow themselves time to recuperate, and just to enjoy the moment. Indulge in some hedonism.

Everyone needs time to digest what is happening to them. If your life is go-go-go, then this will eventually lead to overload, short circuit, and maybe even physical collapse. Taking a pause, and doing nothing for a bit is all that it takes.

Not allowing time for yourself is a bad idea. As well as the relaxation that doing nothing affords, it also helps us to make sense of our own mind. I fear that technology has disconnected us from this simple life lesson. Most people cannot sit for 5 minutes without distracting themselves.

It is really important, for individuality, clarity, and real understanding of the self, to let the mind wander freely. Sitting around “doing nothing” is actually an extremely healthy activity for the mind.

Doing nothing is not a waste of time, and everyone, no matter what you have going on, or how busy you are, should grant themselves this time; for relaxation and for clarity.

Simple lesson number 2: Do nothing for a bit today, and everyday! Go on… treat yourself.

See lesson number 1 for a great way to do do nothing for a while.