Saturday

It’s Saturday.  I don’t need to go into work today and I don’t have any plans.  How should I spend my day?

I just had a heretical thought.  What if I did nothing?

What?

For an entire day?  Do nothing?

Well either the universe would have to end, or I would.  The thought of doing nothing (and by that, I mean not accomplishing anything) for a full day is completely outside both my adult experience and my comfort zone.  I remember my twelve-year-old self asking my mother that same question during summer vacation: “What can I do today?”

I wonder — where did I ever get the idea that I have to do something “useful” every moment?  Reading is useful.  I will learn something.  Writing is useful.  Both the reader and I may learn something.  But nothing?  Being completely unproductive?  How could I rationalize that?

I remember an early TV advertisement for Alka Selzer with the tag line, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

Maybe I would like doing nothing for a change.  After all, I have run my own business for more than fifty years, been married (more than once), raised a family, written books, travelled the world, and my “leisure” time is filled with social activities with family and friends.

Even as I write this blog, I’m watching the word count because I have certain expectations for how much I should write.  I have written a blog every week for about eight years, and usually keep it short – between 300 and 450 words.  I’m now at 261 words, so maybe I’ll wrap up this blog and practice doing nothing for the rest of the day.

Just now Daveen called to say she’ll be home by 5:30. It’s already 5:00. Well, that gives me another half hour to do absolutely nothing.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Alan