Sunday Stories: Love to Stare

Love to Stare

I love to stare.

No, not the creepy, I’m-looking-at-you kind of stare.

I love to stare into the distance and allow my mind the freedom to romp anywhere it cares to.

My husband Bob and I are fortunate to live in a third-floor condo on one of Florida’s 7,500 lakes, and our living room and master bedroom’s sliding glass doors open onto a screened-in porch that look out over Lake Fairview. I purposely have no patio furniture on the porch because I don’t want anything to interfere with my view.

Every morning, I wake up and stare at the lake. I sometimes check for the otters, wood storks, or pelicans, but most of the time, I just stare at the lake’s mirror-like or rippled surface created by the wind or lack thereof.

This is a meditative time for me.

I am a doer. I’m always busy. Even while watching/listening to television shows, I’m doing something, usually on the computer. My husband calls it puttering.

But, this ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes right after I wake up is my time to do nothing, just stare and think.

It’s a creative time when I receive inspiration and come up with lots of great ideas.

I recently read an article in Psychology Today where Dr. Susan Weinschenk talked about niksen, a Dutch word meaning “do nothing.” I didn’t know what I have been practicing all these years had a name, but a quick search provided many books and articles on the art and sweetness of doing nothing, so it’s a thing.

The experts say doing nothing has many benefits—boosted creativity, enhanced productivity, stronger connection to the self, increased concentration, and the list goes on. So, there you have it. Doing nothing is a good thing.

Practice a little nothingness today.

Remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all.

Until next time, happy writing.

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Please note: All grammatical and typographical errors have been put in this article for
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