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Today’s Miracle Moment is about the sweetness of doing nothing at all.
This Miracle Moment is a little bit different than most. I (Marci) am coming to you from a hammock — my first time ever giving a Miracle Moment from a hammock! I’m on my third day of a wilderness backpacking trip, and I’ve had a chance to just relax and do nothing (other than hike). What a nice change of pace!
It’s in this spirit that today’s Miracle Moment is about the sweetness of doing nothing at all.
There is so much power in doing nothing, but it’s all too often overlooked.
My partner Sergio, who’s originally from Italy, taught me this beautiful Italian phrase, dolce far niente. It literally means, sweet do nothing, and it’s a celebration of relaxing.
Celebrating “doing nothing” is quite different from how I normally live. I was raised to work hard and be productive. In my family, DOING was considered the ultimate value. My family applauded striving and accomplishing. My efforts and performance were rewarded and celebrated, so it’s only natural I grew up to become a “do-er.”
Maybe you, too, are a do-er and are in the habit of staying busy to feel worthy. While being purposefully busy is great, there’s also enormous value in the sweetness of doing nothing. It’s easy to become addicted to the productive feeling of continual action. In fact, the chemical dopamine is released in our brain when we accomplish things, and it feels good. We can get addicted to that busy feeling and stuck in a cycle of striving.
The downside of all this “doing” is that too easily lose touch with our “being.” Being stuck in busy-ness doesn’t leave us time to connect with our innate essence or to appreciate who we are deeply inside beyond we do. We can miss some of the sweetest parts of life and of ourselves. And when our actions are infused with our beingness, they’re even more powerful. Slowing down allows us greater insight, presence, and connection.
An Invitation to You…
This week I’m inviting you to do a simple 5-10 minute practice of doing nothing. Tune in to whatever you may experience.
- On the first day, you’ll sit for five minutes and do nothing while keeping your eyes open.
- Sit and BE and notice whatever comes up.
- Notice if there’s discomfort or pain in the body or impatience. If so, just be with that feeling. Feel the feeling without taking action or judging it. Give it the spaciousness to just be.
- Each day this week, embark on this practice of doing nothing, adding a minute to your practice until you reach ten minutes. Notice what shifts in your life.
I think you’ll find that this practice of just doing nothing will infuse your actions with much more awareness, sweetness, and consciousness.
We invite you to share with us your experience of doing nothing in the comments below. What does this shift in your life? We want to know!
I send you my love and wish you the great sweetness of doing nothing, dolce far niente.
“Sometimes the most important thing to do is to do nothing.”
― Debasish Mridha
KEEP LEARNING OPEN HEART, OPEN MIND YOUR CHOICE
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Sitting quietly doing nothing created a shift in my breathing. My breathing slowed down on its own and created relaxation in my body and mind. A thougt arose in my mind of doing something I need to take care of. I noticed it and remained present to my natural breathing The do-to thought subsisded and got back to my doing nothing.
I’m so used at doing nothing. With a heavy head, that’s my main remedy. This not-practise helps me most of the times. It clears my head. Then I can begin (keep) going…
Wonderful!
Beautiful!
Sitting upstairs on the bed at dusk. Candle on and I am beginning to relax and feel lighter after a busy day. Beautiful sunshine in Twickenham today . Being quiet and still feels good . Thank you Marci
Feeling more at peace just reading your comment, Christine. Blessings
Peace. Less thinking and more being
Om. 😉
Thanks for the reminder, Marci. As someone who loves to do, I took this advice to “schedule in” do nothing time to stare at the birds, ducks, trees or just sit quietly.
I also loved the journal prompt, to ask a question about a (money) issue and then free-write. After I made a New Year’s (Rosh HaShanah) intention to do this practice regularly, I was able to free-write a script in 5 minutes that became the basis for a 5-minute meditation video (with my husband), we were suddenly asked to do.
So, it didn’t cut into my “do nothing” time and it brought some fun to our 43-year marriage. Feels like on 9-22-2020 a lot is coming together in the miracle zone. Sheila
Thanks
Oh my goodness, Sheila. I love this! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Marci! Love & gratitude! Always, Colleen
Blessings to you, Colleen.
I love the phrase “Dolce Fare Niente” – it sounds so continental and graceful. In my past life, I was a “do-er” – my MO for living was work hard and play harder. So, to balance that, I made a point to do nothing for an hour after work. But after I retired, I seldom do that; maybe because I am slowing down already. After listening to you though, I think it would be fun to do that again now and pay attention to what comes up. Thanks for the reminder, Marci. Blessings,
We’ve both been masters at “doing” in our lives. And it’s easy to fall back into that pattern. Let us know how it goes.
Thanks, Marci, for the gentle nudge to take five minutes to do nothing. I wondered, first, if I am able to “do nothing” for a whole 5 minutes. I accepted your challenge and it was amazing. I sat on my chaise facing the intracoastal waterway, developed a slight smile on my face and began. Suddenly a boat was going by right in front of me. The surprising thing is that I had not noticed it approaching. Then my timer rang. Five minutes was up. It went by so fast! Surprising for me in my “busy life. I’ll keep this little experiment going.
So, so happy to hear this from you, Carolyn! Thank you for the feedback.
Throughout the day I stop myself from doing, for a few minutes. It reminds me that I am enough, even without doing. It centers and calms me in a most beautiful way.