I woke up this morning to find it raining. If the weather forecast is to be believed, I’m looking forward to 2-3 inches of rain all told.
Sidebar: The temperatures around here are also expected to drop below freezing as early as New Year’s Eve. With any luck, things will dry up somewhat before then, staving off the semi-annual “Driveway of Ice” event. If you’d keep your fingers crossed for me, I’d take it as a kindness.
Naturally, my thoughts went to the stuff I had on my “To Do” list of the outside variety and how they’d have to be postponed, and I started to get anxious about all the stuff not getting done.
Then I thought, “Wait a minute.” There wasn’t actually any kind of deadline on any of the things out there. There was no real reason why, on this overcast and rainy day, I couldn’t just take the day off and be a proper Couch Goblin.
Granted, I’ve got critters out here, that’ll need some upkeep, so I literally cant not do anything but I can take my foot off the gas. Actually, I can do better than that. I can hit the brakes, take myself down to idling speed, and roll from there.
Sidebar #2: I don’t know if new cars today actually do that, so that reference might pass by some of you. Basically, if you had an automatic, you could release the brake from a full stop and your car would roll forward on its own – I had one that went as fast at 5 miles an hour.
Based off my reaction this morning, I think that, collectively, our capacity to stop and be still has been damaged. Even though, I did it this morning, my “Habit” of taking a cup of coffee out on the porch in the morning and just being where my feet are, has been something of a struggle.
Sidebar #3: There have been days when it’s been absolutely freezing – literally – and I’ve given myself a pass on those days, but there’s a part of me that wonders if I’m missing something, especially on those days, that wouldn’t be present on warmer days.
Even now, I’m “Working” (I’m composing this post, I’ve got a load in the washing machine, and a part of my mind is plotting dinner, and looking ahead to something fun and whimsical for New Year’s Eve), but I’ve also got music playing (The Concept Album titled “The Offering” by Lords of the Trident) and this is more stuff I Want to do rather than stuff I feel like I Have to do.
Sidebar #4: Ok, laundry is a rare “want to”/”have to” hybrid.
So, clearly, I’ve got some more work to do around being “Idle” and that’s kind of a misnomer because I don’t truly mean doing absolutely nothing. I’m more referring to taking the time to do something purely for the sake of doing it because it’s something you enjoy.
And – because I love me a good paradox – being “Idle” and doing only stuff that brings you joy can be incredibly taxing. Hiking is a good example. You do it for the sake of doing it – because you get enjoyment out of it, not because you’re being productive in some way.
Sidebar #5: Yes, there are health benefits, and technically adding to your longevity adds to your overall productivity in the long run but those are what you’d call Bonus Nachos.
So – with this being the final blog post of 2024 – one of the things I’m going to take with me going into 2025 is an appreciation for idleness and an intent to dedicate more of my time to doing the things that bring me joy, simply for the sake of doing them.
Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.
I’ll see you in 2025.
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