Oakville Zen Meditation
There is nothing negative about doing nothing: Part 1
How often you are doing nothing or feel like it?
The answer is simple: almost never because the perception of doing nothing will be unacceptable, detrimental for our ego and our social image. Our ego believes that we are so important or indispensible then “Doing nothing” is impossible, sort of personal and social failure. We base our identification with what we are doing
Look at your average day: From the time we wake up to the time we fall asleep we are running around like a hamster in its wheel. We have to achieve whatever.
Even when we have a rare free moment we are rushing to do something anything: surfing, texting, emailing, reading a book, cooking, gardening, shopping, travelling, going to the movie, watching TV, etc.
We are “alcoholic doers” and if we do not do something we feel like being on standstill, frozen in a huge vacuum, sort of emptiness or failure.
Our body-mind is busy doing something non-stop and our mind is wandering continuously: thoughts, worries, anger, planning, expectations, god and bad memories, analysis, judgment, etc.
We are complaining that we don’t have time but we automatically accumulate or create things to do all day long making the time shrinking.
Not only we are busy at doing one thing but, more and more, we must be “multi-taskers”.
We have to do zillion of things at the same time because we believe that we do not have enough time before the end of the day.
This is a vicious circle: More stuff to do = less time to do = less stuff done=more stress and anxiety.
Why are we resisting so much against “doing nothing”?
To keep ourselves busy, to feel busy or to project being busy is part our ego self-image and socio-professional profile. We don’t want to be perceived by others and ourselves as useless, inactive, lazy or failing. We want to be and to look productive. Doing nothing is simply not acceptable and ill perceived by self and by the society. Beside, we don’t want to be bored.
We don’t have the mental skills nor the courage for doing nothing because doing nothing goes against our ego which perceives “doing nothing” as “I am not existing”
Subconsciously we feel guilty, lazy and useless of doing nothing with the fear of boredom.
The feeling of “doing nothing” is just an ego-generated perception, a pure reaction of a defense mechanism. This perception is crazy and detrimental for our emotional balance.
What “doing nothing” really means?
Doing nothing does not mean anything and should not carry any negative meaning. This is a mindset.
Doing noting is a weird concept, a contradiction of terms since doing nothing is ,in fact, doing something called nothing whatever its means in your mind.
So, “doing nothing” is a delusion created by an ego-driven mind.
“I am therefore I do or should do”
Also, what you perceive as “nothing” can be “something” for someone else.
Doing nothing does not exist since doing nothing is in fact doing something that is perceived by our ego-mind as meaningless, empty, useless and a waste of time.
Doing nothing and doing something are identical, only the way our ego perceives and understands the words create this artificial difference.
It is up to us to choose the proper meaning.
Maybe doing nothing is doing something outside our mandatory duties and outside the routine, without any specific purposes, goals or achievements.
Does just breathing is doing nothing?
Does sitting still during meditation is doing nothing? Our ego wants to do “something” , to be active and for many, sitting still is doing nothing. On the contrary, sitting still and focusing on breathing is doing a lot.
Stay tuned for part 2.
