The Art of Doing Nothing

We had an assignment this week that asked us to go to a public place and just stand there and try to clear our minds. Doing nothing didn't seem like it would be too bad since most of us associate doing nothing with relaxing or being lazy. We are just supposed to stand there and think and do absolutely nothing. This proves to be excruciatingly difficult because it has become a part of our culture to use every minute to its optimal potential. Even relaxing requires setting aside a specific slot of time that we know we will relax in. While i was doing the nothing assignment i had trouble clearing my head, it just proved so hard not to people watch. I was almost tempted to look up at the sky just to stop my thoughts, but that would be counterproductive to the assignment. After doing the assignment i thought about how it reminds me of my little brother. He's 3 and he doesn't care when he's supposed to do what. He has spur of the moment decisions and just acts on them. I know this is because he's little, but it just seems to be such an easy and carefree lifestyle. Its the complete opposite of any American adult life, so consumed with time that the idea of putting something off or not doing it at all is far fetched because they just don't have the time to do it later.