A few weeks ago I was watching a ball game on TV, and the game didn’t end until after 11:00.
That was already beyond my normal bedtime. I could have gone to bed.
I didn’t.
I watched the news. Then the next late-night talk show. Then I looked at one of those streaming services and found part of a movie. Then part of a show about building a cabin in the woods.
At some point I looked at the clock.
2:30 a.m.
What was I doing?
Nothing.
I wasn’t working on a project. I didn’t have a deadline. I wasn’t solving a problem or trying to accomplish anything.
I was sitting in front of the television letting my eyeballs go crazy.
Mindless.
And, strangely enough, it was kinda fun.
I hadn’t done that in a long time. I’m usually pretty good about going to bed. There’s a time to stop. A time to sleep. A time to be responsible.
Apparently there’s also a time to watch a guy build a cabin in the woods at 2:00 in the morning.
I’m not suggesting this should become a lifestyle. If I did this every night, I’d probably become an expert on late-night television and useless before breakfast.
But that night made me wonder.
Do we have to make every hour useful?
Do we have to turn everything into a project, a lesson, a goal, or some new way to improve ourselves?
Maybe occasionally being mindless is not the enemy.
Maybe the mind needs a little room where nothing important is happening. No outcome. No achievement. No reason.
Just because.
And here’s the amusing part.
I hadn’t slept that deeply in a long time.
Ha!
I’m still not sure staying up until 2:30 in the morning is good advice.
But once in a while, maybe it’s a pretty good nudge.
Shift/Insight
Not every moment needs to accomplish something. Sometimes doing something for no good reason may remind me I’m alive, not merely productive.
Today’s Nudge
Do one harmless thing today for no practical reason. Don’t improve it. Don’t measure it. Don’t turn it into a habit. Just enjoy it.
Faith Connection
Maybe faith also means I don’t have to prove the value of every hour. I can receive a little useless-looking joy without needing to explain it, justify it, or make it productive.