I hold two conflicting memories from childhood: one is the lush feeling of a seemingly endless summer filled with nothing but freedom to do whatever and the other is the fear of the epithet “lazy” being attached to my name by the grownups.
Science is saving us. Now if anyone calls us lazy, we have the data to prove that loafing is a rich, creative state of being.
The link between boredom and creativity seems to be daydreaming. How often do we leave space for the kind of deep boredom that frees us up to daydream?
Or course, ancient societies presented this wisdom long ago, only we were so dedicated to busyness that it did not sink in: “Tao invariably takes no action, and yet nothing is left undone.—Lao Tzu
But even the wisdom in “do less, accomplish more” can be inverted into a goal-setting to-do item. Does starting out with the goal of accomplishing “more” defeat the benefits of “doing less”? Perhaps better to “do nothing.”
Like most paradoxes, this requires spending some time gazing at our navels (omphaloskepsis).
So take advantage of National Lazy Day.
Today, allow yourself the luxury of boredom.
Do nothing.
Just be!