I’ve spent a lot of time recently, thinking about nothing.
An acquaintance of mine took a day off work because her sister was going in for surgery. She spent the entire day on Facebook, posting about nothing. There were comments about how she thought her sister might be doing, about how her sister might feel as the day progressed. There was no real information about her sister or the surgery, about how the acquaintance felt about the fact her sister was in surgery. But there were posts, lots and lots of posts. About nothing.
I’m just as guilty. Hit my FB page and see what games I’ve played. My accomplishments in a pixel-enhanced world stream constantly, signifying, well, nothing. I’m not physically searching out artifacts in Aztec ruins or actually decorating my house for Christmas or the New Year. I’m sitting on my couch, clicking random pretty pictures, killing time and doing… nothing.
Why does this matter? Because nothing fills time quite like doing nothing. Worrying about nothing, talking about nothing of consequence, thinking I can’t do something for some silly, nothing reason accomplishes more nothing.
And that matters because there’s no reason for anything to stand in the way of pursuing art or making the world a better place. Granted, struggling against one’s fears makes for a great story. But apathy? Not caring, not doing makes for a bunch of horrible stories. And that does nothing for anyone.
America’s brave new world since the technology explosion distracts like nothing else. Apps and tech are everywhere, accomplishing more than previous generations dreamed of doing in seconds. But all this bright, shiny tends to distract us from the things that really matter: relationship. Community. Other people.
The fact that Angry Birds might give you more dexterous thumbs and a better understanding of basic physics pales when compared to playing basketball with a neighborhood kid. Or even just setting the phone down to talk to a family member.
I’m not sure what to do to not do nothing, but there’s got to be something else. If life boils down to choices, then making the choice to not do nothing works as a solid first step. Making that choice again when I’m faced with Facebook or spending time with strangers who could become community, well, that really will be something.
