Sitting Still And Doing Nothing - by David Gorski - DG @ DG
Most days; I fail. Yes, I generally sit still, but I often catch myself fidgeting, scratching or stretching. Which means I didn’t actually do nothing. That’s okay, it’s not a test. It’s not all or nothing.
The purpose of this practice, is to give myself raw thinking or feeling time. To process and feel all the multifaceted cruft that builds up over the course of my life. Things I am learning. Problems I am facing. Upcoming exciting events and trips. Muscle soreness that has accumulated over the week’s workouts.
This controlled setting gives a chance to the conscious mind to catch up to it’s unconscious sibling. Often, right after starting, the thoughts are very fast, unstructured and switch rapidly. Only after I let the mind do what it wants for while do they slow down and de-escalate.
Yes, this is some kind of rudimentary, un-regimented meditation. But, I like how ‘free’ it is. The lack of restriction is very human; this practice is included inside us; no instructor is needed. I do sometimes throw in some other form of meditation, such as mantra or mindfulness. But majority of the time, I just ‘be there’. No method or dogma.
