The importance of being idle

I got a great deal of pleasure from an article in Saturday's Guardian about the value of doing nothing. I can't find it on the Guardian website, but then I haven't looked very hard.

I do nothing as often as possible. Sometimes it isn't in a good way, and I feel low and lazy and guilty. But often it is exactly what the doctor would (I think) order: as I have said to boyfriends past and present, I need my space.

This Sunday was a great example. I did nothing. I am not sure I even got dressed. It was too hot to go out and I am still bandaged anyway so the sun is no fun. Instead, I paid off a large chunk of my sleep debt and did lots of thinking, while occasionally wandering to and from the washing machine (some activities can be done while having your space -- I think they may vary from person to person, but washing is one of mine).

As I am a bit poorly I also read a very bad book, that housemate S had purchased at an airport but couldn't even read on holiday. I did learn that Puerto Rico was a US territory, and I didn't know that before, but I could have done without the author (thinly veiled as narrator) telling me that at least three times, pointing out that most people don't know. Still, it's a self-esteem booster, reading a bad book, sometimes.

On the down side, builder Mick son of Mick is incommunicado. This is worrying. But if I hadn't tried to get hold of him, I wouldn't know this. I should have listened to my inner sloth.

joella