It helps me realize that even doing nothing is doing something . It is less about rest and more about self-sovereignty. When the noise stops, the self begins.
This essay is a gift. I felt every bit of your reflection on stillness, doing nothing, and reclaiming life from performative busy-ness. Your 20 ways to do nothing are playful, profound, and deeply human, a reminder that rest, presence, and small joys are essential, not indulgent. It reminds me of the practice I started long ago, putting my phone down to truly notice people and their emotions, in waiting rooms or in line, on the bus, etc. Thank you for this reminder to slow down and truly be yet again.
What’s compelling here is the refusal to sentimentalize stillness. This isn’t leisure as self-care, nor idleness as rebellion, it’s a precise dismantling of how “busy” has become a proxy for worth. The essay recognizes that productivity culture doesn’t only govern our labor; it colonizes our interior lives, training us to experience even rest as something that must justify itself.
I’m struck by how often you return to space, not as absence, but as a necessary condition for discernment. Reading, thinking, loving, and even choosing well all require intervals of non-doing. Without them, we confuse motion for meaning. The philosophical range here works because it’s grounded in lived attention: steam rising, silence held, the discipline of stopping before the mind rushes to convert experience into output.
This feels timely in the truest sense, not reactive, not performative, but corrective. A reminder that a life examined cannot be one perpetually occupied.
I felt my body exhale while reading this this evening but it has now left me with Taoism. I philosophy I did not know, so, I guess the practice of doing nothing with my mind now starts in the morning. Lol
your talent with words is unmatched, swear it. i had never thought about reading needing to be paused to create true space. sometimes i guess it really does feel like an obligatory hobby.
wow, this was such an expertly written, thought-provoking essay. and very important. I’m in my 20s and it feels like I’m in a constant race with everyone I know to who can be doing more.
It helps me realize that even doing nothing is doing something . It is less about rest and more about self-sovereignty. When the noise stops, the self begins.
that’s beautifully said, justin! thank you. i love the line the self begins!
This essay is a gift. I felt every bit of your reflection on stillness, doing nothing, and reclaiming life from performative busy-ness. Your 20 ways to do nothing are playful, profound, and deeply human, a reminder that rest, presence, and small joys are essential, not indulgent. It reminds me of the practice I started long ago, putting my phone down to truly notice people and their emotions, in waiting rooms or in line, on the bus, etc. Thank you for this reminder to slow down and truly be yet again.
I love this so much
beautifully written!
What’s compelling here is the refusal to sentimentalize stillness. This isn’t leisure as self-care, nor idleness as rebellion, it’s a precise dismantling of how “busy” has become a proxy for worth. The essay recognizes that productivity culture doesn’t only govern our labor; it colonizes our interior lives, training us to experience even rest as something that must justify itself.
I’m struck by how often you return to space, not as absence, but as a necessary condition for discernment. Reading, thinking, loving, and even choosing well all require intervals of non-doing. Without them, we confuse motion for meaning. The philosophical range here works because it’s grounded in lived attention: steam rising, silence held, the discipline of stopping before the mind rushes to convert experience into output.
This feels timely in the truest sense, not reactive, not performative, but corrective. A reminder that a life examined cannot be one perpetually occupied.
nicely done!!
nicely done!
By doing nothing is also doing something, so it begs the question of doing something when doing nothing?
Great article btw.😊
I felt my body exhale while reading this this evening but it has now left me with Taoism. I philosophy I did not know, so, I guess the practice of doing nothing with my mind now starts in the morning. Lol
your talent with words is unmatched, swear it. i had never thought about reading needing to be paused to create true space. sometimes i guess it really does feel like an obligatory hobby.
I love this!!
It’s so comforting and calm, I love the way you described off days, now I will not feel guilty about some certain things.
And the pictures? I love the vibe in there!!
Thank you so much for sharing this
Ahh exactly the permission and love I needed to read today to do nothing. Beautiful!
Love th le art too! Is it yours?
Well written
I’m in my 20s and it feels like I’m in a race with everyone I know to who can be doing more. Thanks for sharing this
Tulipe I'm LOVING your vibe. So inspirational. I want to adopt you as my big sister.
wow, this was such an expertly written, thought-provoking essay. and very important. I’m in my 20s and it feels like I’m in a constant race with everyone I know to who can be doing more.
this was a very important reminder. ❤️
thank you so much, friend.
thank you so much, marie! means the world that you found something meaningful in my scribbles. appreciate you.