Selfish?

August 9th, 2012

If you haven’t seen this New York Times article, The Busy Trap, it’s worth a look. This paragraph is one of my favorites:

“Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.” – Tim Kerider

This week I set aside time to attend a writing conference, putting all else aside and doing something just for me. This is the third summer I’ve done this and it inspires, refreshes, and rejuvenates me for another long fall and winter season.

This “doing something for yourself” really is critical to our health and well-being. For me, this week it was this conference, but for so many other days during the year it is idleness. Sometimes in the form of a walk. Sometimes in the form of just sitting and reading the day away with a book. The point is, it’s a better antidote to stress than any pill ever could be. Not selfish, but self-care – essential self-care. This weekend, try some idleness. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t feel selfish. “Stand back from life and see it as a whole.”

And so, as another day goes by, “the wild summer lightening strikes of inspiration” have hit home this week, and…I have written.