Take Five
What is it like to sit without distractions?
Making Time To Do Nothing
When was the last time you just sat and did nothing?
No music or tv on.
No phone in hand to doom scroll.
Just sitting and doing…nothing.
For most of us it is probably a long time since we sat like this - at least by choice.
With so much entertainment and distraction at our fingertips it’s easier than ever to keep our minds constantly busy taking in new information, whether it is of any relevance to us or not.
Having these distractions available to us and using them is not necessarily an issue but having this busyness of the mind become our default without us even realising it can lead to not allowing our minds time to rest and living life on autopilot, missing out on the world around us.
Below is a short practice to help us see just how attached we might be to busyness and how uncomfortable we may have become with just resting.
The point of this exercise isn’t to find another stick to beat ourselves with - “I can’t even sit still for five minutes” - but more about seeing how attached we may be to being busy and constantly needing stimulation.
Practice:
Find somewhere reasonably quiet where you’re not likely to be disturbed.
Put your phone on airplane mode.
Set a timer for five minutes.
See what it is like to sit with no distractions.
Notice whether it is comfortable and peaceful or maybe there is a sense of anxiety (“What am I missing out on?!).
Notice any sense of stillness or restlessness.
Notice any impulse to reach for the phone to check how much time is left.
See how much planning or thinking is going on in the mind.
At the end of the five minutes ask yourself:
How was it to just sit like that? Difficult? Easy?
What did I notice? Ease/restlessness/wanting the timer to end.
How attached am I to keeping my mind busy?
How averse am I to sitting with my own mind?
If you found this exercise interesting feel free to leave a comment below about how it was for you.