‘Rather than seek the opportunities presented by changing circumstances, many still cling to the habits of yesterday.’ Photo: by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash
Nothing really matters: give up on the busyness, says Stephen Feltham
‘To leave space around and within us is to give ourselves the opportunity to indulge in spiritual breathing.’
The virtue of giving oneself space is seldom recognised. The concept of doing nothing is anathema for many – almost sinful – and yet doing nothing, paradoxically, can be a very constructive thing. The art of nothingness admonishes busyness and the need to fill one’s life with doctrine, thought and action. The lack of these things has conventionally implied an inadequacy or lack of achievement, even slothfulness (a deadly sin), but doing nothing is important because an awful lot of stuff can be going on when one is engaged in doing nothing. If this were not so, nature would not have provided us with that essential element to our lives: sleep. We all know that sleep is beneficial, and we are the better having indulged in it, so it follows that something is going on when we do it. It is not as if nothing is happening, even though one may not be conscious of it. Just think of the possibilities, therefore, of indulging in nothingness when one is conscious of it.
Life is a journey from birth to death. That fact can be universally agreed upon. Step outside of that assertion and there exists a recipe for protracted debate – for example ‘Life, as we all know is a journey from birth to death to rebirth’ or ‘Life, as we all know is a journey from birth to death to purgatory’ or ‘Life, as we all know is a journey from birth to death to heaven or hell’. Where will this debate get us? Probably nowhere, and so it could be said that such thoughts, conversations and debates might lead one to the conclusion that ‘nothing is important’. This would be a sad outcome because while a resigned and negative view of things may conclude that nothing is important, a proactive and positive attitude to the space that nothing provides, or is, would lead one to the conclusion that ‘Nothing’ is important.
To leave space around and within us is to give ourselves the opportunity to indulge in spiritual breathing – to chill out, to calm down and to let nature soothe the furrowed brow. This is something we have all craved at some time or another. The word for this may be ‘healing’.
One cannot chill out while running one’s life at a hectic pace. There is a beautiful wisdom in a seventh day, a day of rest. How many of us really appreciate doing nothing? I venture to say that an ever-increasing number of folks really do. This is why holidays are becoming so important. Notwithstanding that the lead up to them can be very stressful, and the affording of them causes us to be even busier than we need to be, holidays are much valued. They are valued for their concept rather than their reality. The notion of a holiday is one of peacefulness and relaxation and rejuvenation but all too often the reality is commotion, busyness and stress. This is exacerbated by overindulgence of nearly every sensory medium that one could experience, often leading to physical, mental and spiritual exhaustion. This is a paradox therefore: the pursuit of healing results in the need for healing.
I hope I am not so arrogant or self-satisfied to be content only with my own company and indeed, I do enjoy the company of others. But there is a lot to be said for a bit of isolation. The opportunity it provides for introspection, as well as the contemplation of local and world affairs, should not be overlooked. The term ‘self-isolate’ has now become a well known expression for negative reasons. And yet, while this emergency, as in many others in the past, has given rise to a great surge of inventiveness and innovative thinking, the temptation to cling to ‘the old ways’ remains. Rather than seek the opportunities presented by changing circumstances, many still cling to the habits of yesterday. The fear of doing nothing has stimulated further levels of activity in disregard of the benefits that ‘nothing’ has going for it.
‘Be wary of great busyness’ is a Quaker Advice dear to my heart and, to me, sadly ignored by so many of us. The physical self-isolation that many of us now have to adopt has provided the opportunity to embrace the benefits of stillness and quietude. And yet folk have sought to continue the busyness of conventional times by the adoption of ‘virtual’ gatherings. The employment of information technology in order to sustain the high levels of activity that we have become accustomed to, regardless of the impact it has on our physical, mental and spiritual well-being, has ignored the importance of doing nothing.
What is ‘nothing’? Is it really something or is it, as the word suggests, nothing? Nothing is more than an absence of something, it is an opportunity. An artist starts with a blank canvas – nothing – and when their work is done something beautiful exists. The same happens with the poet or author and with a block of stone for a sculptor. They each start with nothing and out of nothing something is created. Of course, it is not the canvas, the paper or the stone that creates a work of art, it is the artist. But the creator of something beautiful cannot begin a work that is busy with stuff. Nothing is the best place to start from.
We are born simple, naive and unlearned. We are uncorrupted but not incorruptible. During the ensuing decades we develop not just intelligence, knowledge and a persona, but the capacity for discordancy in so many different spheres. The correction of this unsatisfactory state of affairs can perhaps best be addressed by one simple term: healing. The planet, our communities and each one of us can, to a significant or lesser degree, benefit from the receipt of healing. This should not be argued, for we all crave it at some time or another.
I still remember my old headmaster, Arthur Legg, six decades on. One thing he used to say frequently in school assemblies was that ‘One gets happiness by giving it away’. Can it not also be so with healing – that one receives healing through the offering of healing to others?
The world remains in the middle of a pandemic crisis. There is much grief and sadness, and our lives and the way they are lived must change in order that an optimum management of all that is affected may be achieved. But one cannot embrace change by clinging to the past. If one’s life is full now it cannot be enhanced by adding more. Only by taking something away and creating the space, or nothingness, to allow enlightenment to speak to one’s particular condition can a little healing take place. Therefore, ‘nothing’ is important, and although I advocate its benefits and encourage all to embrace it, I would like to offer a reassurance: there is no need to be afraid or apprehensive of nothing. History has shown that we each have the capacity to do away with it! Only you can judge if this is a good or a bad thing.
Comments
Thank you for this article.
Paul Nicholas (Worksop meeting)
By p.nicholas760@btinternet.com on 3rd January 2021 - 11:47
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