Why I love to sit and do nothing.
Recently I was sitting on a camping chair in Japan in the pouring rain. Critically, the camping chair and myself were positioned underneath the cover of an awning, itself attached to an absolutely perfect little classic Jimny camping car. So I was quite dry and quite content. I was on the offshore island of Okinawa, deep in the tropical jungle of the northern territory, completely alone, simply sitting and listening and watching. Maybe for two hours. For all intents and purposes I was sitting and doing nothing. A total, mindless waste of time.
Except it wasn’t. Granted, this exercise is more difficult when staring at the aeroplane seat in front of you or in an office, hence why I seek out moments in nature to practice, but it is nonetheless doable and I’ve long harboured the notion that to sit and do nothing is a powerful tool for personal growth. Here’s why:
It forces me to slow down, to breath.
It heightens my senses, and thereby presence to the space around me.
From there my mind feels freer to wonder, dream, be thankful, and crucially just enjoy a moment/place/view/sound/surrounding.
This all culminates in ideas and creativity that ultimately help my life and my job.
From my experience all it takes is intentionality. Let’s break it down.
Everything around me is always crying for my attention, using algorithms to keep my attention when it’s got it, and provide ways to numb the difficult or painful parts of my life that I’d rather not think about. So to intentionally sit and just enjoy a moment for what it is, forces life to slow down and allow space to reflect, re-prioritise and re-centre. I think this is quite healthy.
This allows my senses to become more aware of the very moment I’m in. The sound of a bird delicately bouncing over some leaves, the sound of the water flowing, the feeling of the wind on my face, or the warmth of the coals near my feet. The smell of the tea in my cup, or the visual stimulation of whatever the view is. Sometimes even the sensation of an ant crawling up my leg is a helpful “wake up call”, and rather than brushing it off, to sit and really feel it on your skin and become present to the moment. It’s about noticing things that otherwise go completely unnoticed. And to me, all this is very much in the category of doing something, not nothing. We’ve just over stimulated our lives to find those things desperately boring and wasteful.
My deepest moments of contentment, satisfaction, and not caring about anyone else or anything else, come when I intentionally sit down, to just be with myself and my thoughts. It’s helpful here to differentiate between this and meditation. I do both and they serve different purposes for me. Meditation is a deeper inner reflection, often with eyes closed and concentrated breathing. To “sit and do nothing” is more external, providing space for my mind to wonder and dream and become excited.
Which finally brings me to the point of offering me the space to come up with new or creative ideas. This can be in my personal life or in work, it doesn’t matter, both happen. It encourages a posture of perspective away from the vicious cycle of comparison and online success. My favourite ideas and most helpful times of reflection have come in moments like these and that’s why for me, to sit and do nothing, is one of the most valuable things I like doing.
Okinawa ‘25
