"Niksen" - Chuang Tzu

Heaven does nothing: its non-doing is its serenity.
Earth does nothing: its non-doing is its rest.
From the union of these two non-doings
All actions proceed.
All things are made.
How vast, how invisible
This coming-to-be!

All things come from nowhere!
How vast, how invisible -
No way to explain it!

All beings in their perfection
Are born of non-doing,
Hence it is said:
"Heaven and earth do nothing
Yet there is nothing they do not do."

From: Thomas Merton, The Way of Chuang Tzu

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I recently read an article in a Time Magazine Special Edition
on Mindfulness, about "Niksen" - the concept of doing nothing.

Here is an excerpt...

It is a Dutch concept that means to do nothing, to be idle, or do
something without purpose.  The idea is to manage stress and
recover from burnout in our chaotic and busy world.  It's as simple
as simply sitting in a chair, looking out your window, or passively
listening to music, or taking a walk in nature.  Where mindfulness
is being present in the  moment with focused attention, Niksen is
more about carving out time to just be, letting the mind wander
rather than focusing on details.

In the Netherlands Niksen has been historically dismissed as
laziness or unproductive.  But as stress levels rise globally, so
does the crushing health impacts, like burnout, that are getting more
and more recognition from the medical community, and doing
nothing is increasingly being reframed as a positive stress
relieving tactic.

Doing non-purposeful, simple tasks allows the mind to wander
which can boost one's creativity and foster creative problem solving
and even induce inspiration, and getting clarity about what action to
take in order to meet a situation.

It can be somewhat challenging for some to just sit and stare out a
window, especially when you are used to *doing* something all the
time.  But dare to be idle - rest - and *allow* life to run its course.  Be
without purpose, carve out time to do something actively passive -
like looking out a window.

Letting the mind wander is not about being caught up in rumination.
We need to train our minds to wander in a way that is imaginative
and creative and ease our way into downtime - doing nothing -
balancing our busyness with non-doing.

Excerpt from:

"Meet Niksen - The Dutch Concept of Doing Nothing"
by Sophia Gottfried
from: Time Magazine Special Edition
Mindfulness: Your Path to Health and Happiness
Aug 15, 2022

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Photo - Mystic Meandering