The
last ‘workshop’ of the year involved being with a small international group in
a lovely Tuscan spa resort where we explored what wellness means. A perfect
way to start the festive holidays as it highlighted the importance of delicious and sacred idleness in our lives.
Delicious
idleness: the well known Italian expression and concept of “dolce far niente”.
We know it as the sweetness, pleasure and carefree feeling of doing nothing;
the enjoyment of sheer indulgent relaxation and blissful laziness.
And
then there’s Sacred Idleness, perhaps its more serious cousin.
I
first came across the term through my work with physicians from Epstein’s ideas
on encouraging medical practitioners to take time out, in order to cultivate
habits of mind, such as attentiveness, curiosity and presence, in order to
enhance their own wellbeing and effective medical practice.
Like
delicious idleness it is the opposite of work.
The difference is that it is less about laziness and more about
learning.
It
is a time of rest, restoration and rejuvenation but also of reflection.
We
don’t just stumble across it, we intentionally dedicate time for it, honour it
and relish it.
It
nurtures us at a deeper level and develops our wisdom along the way.
It
is earnest, but also allowing; it is purposeful and yet is more about
suppleness and emptiness than activity and focus.
It
is when we are fully aware, alert and present in the moment.
It
can be deliciously sweet and blissful, but it can also taste sour and feel
anything but blissful, at least at the
start, when you are not use to not-doing, or contemplating who you are and what
you do.
It
can take various forms; there is no prescription. It depends on every individual and their
situation, but it is about being fully with yourself in stillness embracing the
nothingness and the everythingness...
It
may involve retreating to the mountains, to meditate or to trek quietly in the
glory of nature.
It
may involve sitting silently in front of the fire, encompassed by its warmth
and security, seeing the reflection of your mind in the changing, dancing
flames.
It
may be lounging on a chair, feeling the sensations of the sun and sea air on
your skin, reflecting on the year that has been and what you want to take
forward into the new year.
Or
it may just be a dedicated 10 minutes by yourself, out in the garden or in your
favourite spot in the house, between dinner courses or between juggling demands
of the dog, children and relations, to not only ‘catch your breath’, but to sit
there with it.
May
you gift yourself sacred idleness this festive season, and carry on the
practice as an ongoing commitment to your health and wellbeing.
And
may you gift yourself delicious idleness for the same reasons.
Festive
cheers to all.
Sources:
A term coined by George MacDonald as quoted
in Poor Man's College Quotations, 1994. in Epstein, R.M. (2003b) “Mindful Practice in Action (II): Cultivating
Habits of Mind”, Families, Systems & Health, 21(1): 11-17.
Photo: from mum – a special home where one
can be sure to enjoy sacred and delicious idleness
This posting is a slightly modified version
of one posted last year.
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