Lost art of doing nothing

After working in the public and private sectors for more than four and a half decades citizen Perera had learnt how to work incessantly, follow deadlines and keep busy all the time. By doing so he did not earn a fortune or built a mansion. Instead he retired with a number of complications in his health. Today he is compelled to seek medical attention.

Citizen Perera, is not alone in this predicament. There are many retired people doing just the same. Sometimes I wonder whether it is common to all the human beings. Fortunately, this is not so.

Whenever citizen Perera makes a trip to his native place - tiny village surrounded by hills - he meets simple villagers who are older than he leading carefree, happy lives. They hardly consult physicians, neurologists or cardiologists because they have no physical ailments. Even at the age of 80 or 90 they work in the fields or engage in chena cultivation. When their work is over they go home and relax.

Citizen Perera is amazed at the way they relax. While city folks are glued to the idiot box for relaxation, villagers will just relax sitting on a tree trunk and watching birds that fly in the forest. Instead of chatting with someone on the mobile phone, they would speak to their domestic animals.

The telephone is one of the major necessary evils in city life. In order to minimise the agony Citizen Perera had bidden goodbye to his mobile phone long time ago. However, his land phone still remains to annoy him. He still remembers how his boss carried three mobile phones instead of one!

The next necessary evil is the clock. City dwellers always look at the clock because they have to keep so many appointments. Most of the time office workers get up late in the morning and rush to their work places. Safety experts say that about nine tenths of the accidents on streets are caused by careless rushing. Office and factory workers have to beat the deadlines or face consequences. In their hurry to reach their destinations, they cross busy streets ignoring pedestrian crossings. Even those who are driving to their work places are in such a hurry that they invariably meet with accidents. If you look at it carefully, most of the road accidents occur during rush hours.

It is not practicable, however, to get rid of clocks and wrist-watches for obvious reasons. There are, of course, ways of minimising accidents. One easy method is to get up early and proceed to your work place at a leisurely pace. This will allow you to travel in uncrowded buses and trains. What is more, even the streets will have less traffic and you can safely cross them.

Busy people have hectic schedules. A friend of mine who works in a blue-chip company returns home holding his head with both hands.

He would say: So much of work... so many engagements... So many problems. The poor man had no time or inclination to relax. In order to relax he starts watching his favourite teledrama. He watches how family members quarrel over property or how the husband is carrying on with another woman. He switches off the television only to answer the telephone.

The next necessary evil is the calendar staring in your face. When a busy executive looks at his calendar fear will set his pulse racing. Tomorrow, like any other day, is full of meetings, and brainstorming sessions. There are reports and memos to write, bills to pay and organise an office trip to the hill country.

When you look at the calendar you also realise that you are getting old day by day. Many people are plunged into mental and physical upset by doing so. I know of a female actor (she doesn’t like to be called an ‘actress’) who was a beauty queen in her heyday. But the age is catching up on her. She is virtually upset by the fear of her future and the on-coming sicknesses. She thinks that there is no excitement in old age.

A sensible actor can grow old gracefully without getting upset. There are many suitable roles for elderly men and women in films and teledramas. If they can fit into such roles, half the battle against ageing will be over. When you are old you cannot be young again, can you? If you can boast of your children or grandchildren, you lead a happy life.

Sir William Osler’s advice to calendar watchers is worth quoting: “Waste of energy, mental distress, nervous worries dog the man who is anxious about the future. Cultivate the habit of a life of day-tight compartments.” If you can live each day meaningfully, without worrying about the future, that will make you a happy person.

Since modern civilization had imposed on us devices such as the telephone, the clock, and the calendar, we cannot possibly get rid of them. However, if you care to live a serene life, you can still achieve your objects.

One method recommended by behavioral scientists is looking into yourself. The human body is a delicate mechanism which sends out emergency signals when there are problems caused by anger or worries. When this happens the adrenal glands shoot a surcharge of adrenalin into the blood stream. In normal parlance, adrenalin raises your blood sugar level. A medical specialist says that when this happens the pancreas secretes insulin to burn the excessive fuel. But the insulin burns up not only the excess fuel but also the normal supply. When this happens you feel a shortage of blood sugar and the vital organs of the body will be adversely affected.

According to medical opinion, the human body can handle a reasonable number of emergency calls. When there are too many emergency calls you will have a nervous breakdown.

If you can look away from yourself at least for a few minutes, you can lift your mind up above the rush an utter confusion around you. Amidst a busy schedule of appointments and meetings, think of something pleasant. I would like to echo Edwin Markman’s words: “At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky is a place of central calm.” You find yourself in such cyclonic situations in office or at home. On such occasions, try to find the place of central calm.

Everyday you are trying to speed up your journey. Life is a hectic competition with your neighbour or colleague in office. You think that speeding up will help you to beat your rival - real or imaginary. Is this speed really necessary? Probably not. You will get what you deserve. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed”.

When you do nothing for a short time the mind cools down. Remember that the mind is efficient only when it is cool. For instance, look at a man who rushes to stab another person. When the mind is hot nobody can control it. When your mind is excited it cannot produce rational thoughts. In a heated state of the mind, emotions begin to control judgement. When this happens the results that ensue will be costly.

It is only through doing nothing that you can posses a serene mind. Creative power comes from a silent mind. If you are excited all the time, you will not produce anything worthwhile. Thomas Carleyle, historian and philosopher, once said, “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together.”

Silence fertilizes the “place of central calm”. When, it is fortified with powerful thoughts it can weather all storms. Abraham Lincoln developed his amazing strength while spending his precious time in the primeval forests which may have whispered many secrets to him. If he had confined himself to his chamber listening to his advisors, he would never have developed such an amazing mind.

As has been seen, the lost art of doing nothing is not a new theory. It has been practised by many statesmen, philosophers and spiritualists.

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