To do no thing during times of transition such as a pandemic goes against what most of us have been told. During times of change we often hear a call to action, something must be done now!
Do No Thing
Someone once said it’s amazing how things can work themselves out on their own if you give it time. When you do no thing, you give things a chance to work themselves out. Of course, you may or may not get the outcome you were hoping for. When we try to control the outcome of a situation, that means that we have determined that a situation should have a certain outcome. Usually, that outcome is based on what we think is best for ourselves. However, whenever we begin to work on a solution to a problem or resolve a situation we need to give some time for doing no thing. Otherwise, we may be trying to devise a solution based on our fear, anger, or anxiety. It is good to do no thing for a while to make sure that we work through those things. Decisions made in fear, anger, or anxiety are not always the best decisions in the long run. They may offer temporary results but may not solve the real problem.
Times of transition offer us the opportunity to dig below the surface of fear, anger, and anxiety and discern solutions that are more life nurturing. When we take a few moments to do no thing, we get the opportunity to explore the bigger picture and discern solutions with greater impact and depth.
Ponder
What would it be like for you to do no thing when contemplating new decisions? Could you discern things that might be distracting you as you make decisions for meaningful change? I encourage you to take some no thing time as we navigate all the changes we face in our world. If you are interested in developing a practice that is life nurturing and provides you with skills for negotiating change. Please let me know.
