Why doing nothing is not a waste of time.

Imagine for a moment you could be given more time.  Pockets of delicious minutes, days, weeks, even months for whatever you need.

What would you do?

Would you fill this time with activities?  Plan to get lots of stuff done not wanting to ‘waste’ a precious second?

Would you do ‘nothing’?   Spending the time being present, wherever you are, with whoever you’re with?  Peacefully watching clouds, listening to birds and feeling the gentle tug of gravity holding you to this earth?

I have been a ‘fill up every minute’ type of gal for a very long time.  Give me more time and I will pack more in.

In fact, I feared doing nothing would waste my time……..until now.

We recently took a month’s holiday.  Decided to head north and soak up a warmer Winter in Queensland.

We made no plans to sightsee, nor did we book any tours or promise any theme parks.

We were simply going to live long, relaxed days and drift with time.

To rise when we felt rested, to eat when we were hungry and to go with the flow each day.

We read books, played chess and watched movies.

We walked along beaches, we played in the sand and we went fishing.

We sometimes ate in cafes and other times cooked at home.

And then there were times we did ‘nothing’.  We sat, we gazed, we talked.

We followed our urges and found a rhythm as a family that lulled us through each day.

At this pace I felt a strong awareness of my surroundings, I was present and fully inhabiting each moment.

The days felt expansive, like we had more time, and the month of June seemed longer.

Each moment was enjoyed, unhurried and the time counted, even when we did nothing. (Weird hah!)

We have been home now for 3 weeks.  These past 3 weeks have gone fast.

The tendency again to fill our days and then wonder where the time went.

Time lost and moments missed while we race madly though our day and our lives.

I realise now that doing nothing is not a waste of time.  

That in fact doing nothing gave me more of an awareness of my time.

So unless you choose to be present and live mindfully, more of your time will fly by unnoticed.

Instead of wondering where all your time goes, slow down, savour more, listen deeply and be present in each moment.

By doing less you will begin to notice so much more and time will not be wasted, in fact moments will be gained.