the productivity of doing nothing:

I have been learning a great lesson from my good friend Ellison. On this pilgrimage of ours, we often get to our destination via train or bus in the evening around 8 or 9. We sleep there for one night, stow our luggage early the next morning, see a few sites in that city, grab our luggage and catch a train to the next city. As exhilarating as this is, exhaustion often accompanies us. At just over a month in, the burn out is creeping in. There are days when we have free time and most people want to run to see as many sites as possible. I have noticed often that one of my friends likes to chill at the hotel during these times. At first I thought this was missing out on opportunities but then I tried it. Today in Venice after the ghetto it was rainy and everyone was tired and getting sick so we went back to the hotel. There were many things I needed to get done in my mind like journaling and reading the scriptures and taking a nap. But I ended up just laying on my bed for a couple hours next to ellie. Sometimes talking, sometimes checking my phone, but mostly just existing. By the evening I felt rejuvenated— even though I didn’t do any of the tasks on my list that I thought would do just that. 

I think sometimes we are chasing the cure to our anxiousness that is caused by busyness through adding more busy. I’m finding what I really need in these times is to allow my brain and body a true break of nothingness. We all crave the feeling of productivity, so this can be a real challenge. However I’m finding as a wise companion of mine would say, we need to slow down to speed up.