joy of empty days

Urgency exists in the mind, not in the world

I like empty days. Empty weeks. Empty calendars.

Yet when I talk to other people, they often pride themselves on how busy they are. Having an empty schedule is anathema.

The culture at the moment is that being busy is good.

The hidden message seems to be that by being busy you are doing something important, and by doing something important you must be an important person.

It is a status symbol of this era. (Historically though not so : In renaissance Italy for example, the wealthy were seen as having an abundance of time and leisure).

Even beyond work, there is an expectation to be ‘doing something’. Filling your time with productive activities, side hustles (sigh) all whilst having an active social life. What do you mean you aren’t hanging out with all your friends in the centre of a major city, going to concerts, dating multiple people and progressing in your job? What are you doing?

When people ask what I am doing, I take a certain amount of satisfaction in saying ‘nothing much’.

It’s a hidden secret pleasure. I am not busy. I am not doing something. Time stretches out like an empty meadow. This is a freedom that some billionaires can’t seem to afford.

You can take off your watch. Turn off your phone and let the shadows cast by the sun be your guide for the day.

Going nowhere. Doing nothing. If you pay attention, maybe you will find something beyond words here.