Here is where I sit and do nothing.
Actually, I do nothing in a lot of places,
but this is my favorite--the Disabled Fishing Access on the American River
Parkway. There are a few picnic tables
here on a bluff, shade trees and a small pavilion, and a wheelchair ramp down
to water level.
I’m usually here early in the
morning and often have the place to myself.
Other old men visit the place, and for some of them it’s a last
waypoint. Their passing is noted when a new
memorial is etched into the concrete base of a picnic table. The table I’m sitting at while I scribble a
few notes has at its base the name of a man who “found beauty, joy, and solace
in this place.”
I rarely see a woman here, just old
men. I guess that by the time we get to
be this age the women are glad to get us out of the house for a while.
I should really be posting more, but
I get busy, often doing nothing. It’s
okay to do nothing, beneficial even. In
the realm of health and wellness the next big thing could be doing nothing, in
the manner of the stress-reducing
practice from the Netherlands labeled by the Dutch word niksen.
Of course, it’s impossible to do
absolutely nothing, to flatline the activity curve. We have too many things to do when awake, and
when asleep the brain continues to turn and churn, sorting out tasks or
mischief for when we wake up.
Therefore, the experts on niksen say
that the thing to do is do nothing with a purpose, such as daydreaming. That I’m good at.
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