Long ago when we were in Madikeri, there was this friend of mine, whose house I used to frequent to play shuttle badminton. Soon after the exchange of pleasantries, he used to ask me the dreaded question, "What were you doing?" My answer, as always, would be, "Nothing." This puzzled him endlessly.
"What do you mean 'nothing'. You must have been doing something!"
"No, nothing really. Nothing in particular."
"Were you studying? Or helping your Mom?"
"No."
"Playing?"
"No, I just came here to play. Didn't I?"
"Watching TV, then!"
"No, I hardly watch TV."
"Well, what were you doing?"
"Nothing, I told you."
"How can anyone not be doing anything!?"
Yes, I had mastered the art of doing nothing at an early age. I generally did not have anything exciting to offer to people. No doubt why I've hardly retained old friends. Or new friends. Although, instances of the above conversation hardly take place these days, it is still a difficult question for me. Or rather, the question is not difficult for me at all, it is my answer that others find difficult.
With the diffusion of the Internet, this has become the central inquiry of mankind, what with people over emails, IMs, numerous social networking tools, buzzing constantly, demanding to know what one is doing, one did during the week, or one plans to do over the weekend. As if everyone has to be doing something at all times. Some of the newer tools press the issue further: what are you doing right now?
Why not spend part of your time doing nothing? I am sure it will not matter too much. In fact, most of you might cause less harm to yourself and the world by doing nothing than you might by doing anything else that you plan to do. If you think how can anyone survive by not doing anything at all, think again. I have. I am even doing mildly well.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
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2 comments:
I personally find these phases the most chaotic ones. And I guess most of us today would find it rather irritable. When I was young my mom usually had these fights about my dad doing nothing. Plain Nothing. Just simply lying down on the char poi soaking up the winter sun on the terrace. My mom used to make frequent trips to the terrace and each time returned without dad. That was when I saw what doing nothing could mean and how well a person can be peaceful doing nothing. Definitions for "doing nothing" have changed now. I wonder where solitude has gone missing. Hmmm doing nothing used to be almost meditative when I was a kid. I miss those days.
"There's not enough time to do all the nothing we want to" --- Bill Watterson
Amen!
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