Doing Nothing May Be Time Well Spent
“I don’t have any time to just hang out.” His sad words brought an ache to my heart.
When did we allow doing to crowd out being?
Is this what our lives have come to? This rushing to do. Always one more thing to be done.
But how long do we really have? This time thing. Here stretching endlessly, but gone in a blink.
We push and push and do and do. And, yes, there is the doing and there is the need for the doing. But where is the being. The hanging.
Have we lost sight of the need to just be? To lay in the soft grass and ponder the expansive universe. To gather in a heap in a pile of leaves to laugh and giggle. To sit in silence, candles flicking, a book (just for fun) in our laps.
Have we forgotten how to just hang? To wander aimlessly with no agenda. To create something, yet really nothing. To dance and laugh and sing with abandon. To share a space without the need to solve a problem or “accomplish” anything. To play games just because.
The being, the hanging, they need to be resurrected.
Because the time to be, well … it will soon fly away.
Because…
if we fill every moment of every day, we’ll be left in the echo of time, wondering how to recapture just a whisper.
If we fill every moment, we'll be left in the echo of time, wondering how to recapture just a whisper. Click To Tweet
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. (Psalm 39:4-7)
Reflection: Is the pull to be doing robbing you of experiencing the gift of each day? How would you benefit from time to just be?
Linking with Lisa-Jo where a crowd writes uninhibited for 5 minutes (or a few more) on a given topic. It is a wonderful exercise in letting the words flow. Click the button (icon) to check out more posts or consider linking up yourself. Today’s word is: “Fly.”
Find hope in your real-life struggles. We'll chase it together! I am a wife; mom of 4 (including a young adult daughter with special needs); miscarriage mom of 5; author & follower of Jesus Christ. I write, edit, speak and enjoy everything outdoors.
Well said and a nice write
Thank you.
teach me to number my days… to count the gift of each day
such an important prayer.
It is, Richelle! Noticing the blessings of each day infuses each with a heightened sense of joy and peace not experienced otherwise. Lord, help me to see the good gifts you give!
I pray I always make time to ‘just hang out’ but I have admit I struggle to.
It is, Amy. Just this week, I’ve missed my Bible time several days and stayed up far too late a couple nights “doing.” But the important thing is to keep praying about it and reminding ourselves to slow down and breathe in each day.