“Dolce far niente” is an Italian concept which basically means “the sweetness of doing nothing“. There’s actually a trend in Instagram with such a sound, and as I was making a video with it, I started thinking about this concept a little more deeply.
I don’t know why, but we, people equate “doing nothing” with laziness and procrastination and always see it in a negative aspect. Of course, if you spend your whole time being lazy and not doing anything at all, it can become a problem. But why do people judge each other, including themselves, when they want to be a little lazy every now and then?
Nowadays, in this rushing world everyone’s doing something, going somewhere, everyone’s got plans and behaves like a president of a country, who constantly has the most serious meetings and events and never has a single minute for leisure. But in reality people just don’t like to rest. How do they spend their weekends, day offs or holidays? They dedicate that time to doing something of “high importance“. You’ll rarely see a person taking time off his work for just…nothing. They’ll take a day off for a wedding, a trip, a birthday etc. I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just trying to understand why we never learned to prioritize our rest, comfort and well-being, at least from time to time.
And even when we do something, we want to do sth else as well. Going for a walk? We need to talk on the phone as well. Having a lunch? We need to watch a movie with it. Watching a movie? We can scroll our phones simultaneously. Meeting a friend in a cafe? We still manage to chat with other people online. If we stay alone for a while, we do everything to fill that “emptiness” with some extra noises or activities. When a person’s sick, they still force themselves to do sth. If they spend 1-2 days in their beds, doing nothing, they feel extremely guilty for “wasting their lives“. While they perfectly do it anyway with constantly burdening themselves with not pleasant tasks.
There was a time, when doing nothing was a privilege. Now it’s a punishment. Not for everyone but still. Though sometimes, when people spend one day relaxing and not doing anything specific, they understand how good it is, how much it can help your all your healths (I mean psychological, mental, physical, emotional). Then they swear, that they’ll find some time to dedicate it to their self-care. But once they’re out of “cage“, they restart running like that Roadrunner from the old cartoon, and completely forget about their promise. Same happened with quarantine and first lockdown, when people finally realized what it means to actually have a proper rest, to spend time alone, or with family, to make some art and crafts. But who remembers about that now? Right, no one.
I think we all would have been in a much better place, if we didn’t put so much pressure on us. To be better than yesterday, to be stronger, smarter, more successful than everyone else. To work hard every single day. We need to understand that sometimes it’s not only okay, but also necessary to get lazy and procrastinate. It gives us time to refill our energy, to recharge, gain new powers. How do you think our phones or other technology would work, if we didn’t charge them at all? Do you think they’d last long? I highly doubt it. So, if we care about our technologies, want them to function better and longer, why don’t we care about ourselves? I reckon, we’re a little more important than our phones and computers.
So never feel guilty, if you feel like doing nothing. Laziness and procrastination are as good or as bad as hardworking. You just need to keep things in a balance. Cause everything in this world has its own special place in our lives, so we need to embrace and enjoy every aspect of it.
annmary0723 
“Being still and doing nothing are two completely different things.” Jackie Chan
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haha, great quote! 😄
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Based on the fact that people like to spin the wheel like squirrels rather than just being in a state of doing nothing from time to time, the question arises, maybe not everyone is human.🤔
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haha that can be true😂😂
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Great post. I appreciated the points you made. Many years ago I made a point of taking time to just lean against a tree and look at the sky and clouds. The other day, on a well known walking trail, I found a goose egg, sitting on an barrier of rocks, enforced with wire. I don’t know how it got there. But I realized it had been there for awhile and no one noticed it. I see people on walks that are either bent over to talk to their walking companions or if alone, looking straight ahead, not looking at the sky, the river, the plants, etc. I noticed the tail end of a Marten ducking into a bush. I’ve seen amazing spider webs. Yet most people who walk seem to be focused only on exercise, rather than all that is around them.
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yes, you’re absolutely right! when I started going for walks alone, I started paying much more attention to the things surrounding me. And you see the world in a new perspective!
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A person cannot do nothing because even if they think they’re doing nothing they are doing something. It’s all in perspective, yes? If you sit on a Rock looking out over the horizon, are you doing nothing, or are you processing the vision in front of you which is doing something. Many years ago my friend and I were climbing Mount Rainier in the state of Washington. Around the 10,000 foot level there are some huts that people can sleep in and rest before pushing on to the summit. The next day my friend and I started for the summit but he hurt his back and had to turn around and return to the huts while I went on to the summit. When I returned later that day from The summit he expressed regret and not being able to go but I told him this mountain will be here and there will be other times that he can attempt this summit or many other summits because the goal is not the summit for the summit is only halfway and the goal is to return home which will complete the circle. During the time that I was on my way to the summit and back he spent the day what she said he did “nothing” . He told me in all of his time so far that every day he was doing something and he believes that this was the first day in his life up to that point and he actually did nothing. I told him there were many days in my life where I did nothing and I hope that I will have many more days in my life that I can do nothing. Years later we met again for a short hike and he told me about that day on Mount Rainier and how since then he has had many days where he has done nothing and he has felt the quality of his life had improved.
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what a beautiful story! it’s great, when people learn the important things and make their lives better! 😄
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🙂
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Beautiful sharing…I resonate with your words…I’m wondering if you’re on IG as well…
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thank you! I do have an account in Instagram, it’s kind of like a mini-version of this blog in there 😄
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You’re welcome…if you wish to connect over there, here’s my IG handle : @navinspoetry_
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I love this message. Taking time to play or just be is important to joy and well-being. 💜
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thanks a lot! yes, that’s indeed really important 🤍
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