Yesterday would have been my mom’s birthday. I spent it doing nothing. Absolutely nothing.
It was beautiful.
There have been seasons in my life when I understood the importance of doing nothing. I think back to 7th-10th grade when I would come home from school and put on a record album. (yes, I’m THAT old). I would sit in a rocking chair and just rock as I listened to Swan Lake, Grease, the Kinks, the Doors or AC/DC…depending on my mood.
Then? I would go into my bedroom and lie on my bed and look out the window. Just stare and do nothing.
This ritual usually took all of one hour..then..you know, homework, violin practice, playing with friends and starting dinner for the family (latch-key kid here), etc.
I never appreciated the beauty of that hour of nothing until I didn’t have it.
Once I started driving? No time for nothing. Part time jobs, which continued through college along with increased study loads, more practice time (violin) and my desire to party (it was the 80’s) ate all my free time. Though I did occasionally spend time in my practice room, just starting out the window;)
Once I was a parent, all bets were off. I did not have the luxury of doing nothing until decades later. I had simply forgotten how.
God likes our nothing. He can do amazing things out of nothing. How can we allow God to work within us if we are too busy or too full of swarming thoughts that we don’t give ourselves time to process. If we don’t give ourselves time to dream, imagine, to just sit. still…How can we have room for God?
How can God, who created the universe with nothing, use me if I don’t empty myself. Empty myself of pride, worries, problem fixing. Empty myself of doing and
just. be.
So yesterday? I visited with some college friends via zoom in the am. Lovely visit!
Then? I turned off the computer. I turned off the phone. I climbed in my bed and just stared out of my bedroom window for hours.
I could literally feel my brain rest without all the noise.
I had forgotten the importance of doing nothing. I hope to find a way to incorporate nothingness more regularly into my daily being.
faithuntamed 