Creativity Assignment: Do Nothing

My Magic of Myth: End of the Quest assignment this month, from mid-July to mid-August, is to do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I can do that. I love doing nothing. I understand that it can be difficult to shut off electronics, to "disconnect," to give oneself permission to do nothing. Not my problem. I do nothing at least once a day. If I do nothing while sitting on the couch, more often than not the door pictured above is what I stare at, not actually seeing it, mind you, as I stare into space in it's general direction. (The stripey hula hoop makes a nice frame, doesn't it?)

What the heck is this about doing nothing that it merits being an assignment? Well, it's an imperative tool for creativity. I never thought about it in so many words, I just instinctually do nothing as an antidote to over-stimulation. Introverts, I'm sure you know what I mean. The "oh dear god get me out of here now" feeling that comes from being in crowds of people for too long, exposed to ceaseless conversations crossing over each other, too much noise (traffic, talk, TVs, stereos, people on their phones, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE), the never ending barrage of visual input, general sensory overload. It's exhausting. I reboot as needed with solitude, preferably lying down with my eyes closed in a quiet place. Ten minutes, 15 minutes is usually all it takes to empty the buzzing, swirling onslaught from my system and feel cleansed and calm once again.

But doing nothing as a creative tool? Makes perfect sense to me. And, not that I needed it but you know how much I adore synchronicities, three separate instances from three different sources - wait, no, there were four! - advising doing nothing to stimulate creativity converged for me. I plan to share these sources later, but please excuse me for now, I must shut off the computer and do nothing.