Dear Jessica Brennan,
This is a blog post about the power of nothing. Nothing to say, nothing to do, nothing to think, nothing to be.
A lot of people don’t like the concept of nothing. I often have fallen into this category. I like to be busy, and accomplish things and strive for better this and that. I like to be heard and hear what others are trying to say. I have a busy mind that always seems to be thinking about something. If I’m asked what I am doing, “nothing”, is seldom the answer.
Society has taught us that doing nothing is not something to aspire to. Being lazy is associated with doing nothing. Slogans like, “Just do it”, encourage us to get going and labels like, “couch potato” give us all the guilt we need to stay in motion.
As I get older, I will admit, that the idea of nothing has greater appeal. For example, if I won a big lottery I would buy almost nothing. In fact, I would get rid of things if I came into a large sum of money, because I would want less stuff to maintain, not more.
When I have a problem that is causing me to worry, I try to strip away the anxiety by bringing my mind to nothing. Actively letting all the scary thoughts swoosh around like a funnel cloud and fly out my ears until there is simply a lovely nothing left in my head, helps me relax. I unlatch the thoughts that are fused to my brain, and let them fade away. At times, there is a tremendous advantage to thinking about nothing. Yoga is good for this too. It brings us to a state of beautiful nothingness.
Of course, we cannot live in a world of nothing, nor would we want to. Yet, now and again, a day or two of nothing can be so restorative. Nothing to say, nothing to do, nothing to think, nothing to be. Nothing to hold on to, nothing to let go of, nothing to lament or hope for, nothing to feel bad about, nothing to anticipate. Nothing to solve. Nothing at all.
I think we might call that serenity.
Love,
Mum xx
