“This is very important— to take leisure time. Pace is the essence. Without stopping entirely and doing nothing at all for great periods, you’re gonna lose everything… just to do nothing at all, very, very important. And how many people do this in modern society? Very few. That’s why they’re all totally mad, frustrated, angry and hateful.” — Charles Bukowski, Writer
As a counterbalance to our previous discussion on work, I’d like to talk about rest. I don’t think we can overestimate the value and power of good solid rest. I don’t mean sleep, or vacations, or laying around playing video games or going to a party as a relief or reward from hard work, but the genuine cessation of activity; doing nothing.
To me, rest means silence; a silence and easing of the mind and body. There’s no direction at all. it’s about NOT being guided by goals, memories or thoughts of any kind. It reconfirms an approach to life — an approach to each moment — with the attitude of “I don’t know” which humbles us, empties our minds and opens our hearts.
If you don’t know what to do, you do nothing… then inwardly you are completely silent.” — J. Krishnamurti, Orator
Sincere and genuine rest also means time alone to be with oneself and oneself only. To hear a different language — one not limited to the one-dimensional and time-bound nature of verbal language but one that’s multidimensional. It’s an opportunity to communicate within the self and to trust the signals deep inside us. Signals which, ever so strangely, connect us with forces beyond our understanding, the big picture that we can’t quite see. I can’t think of a more countering action to all the noise and superficiality of our modern technological society than this kind of re-alignment. It strenghtens the soul.
“The strongest men are the most alone.” — Ibsen, Playwright
Personally, I find try to find rest (silence) at least once daily — via meditation usually — just to be quiet, not thinking and to look, smell, hear and feel things around me. I might do this for 15 mins or 2 hours, but I find duration isn’t so much the key. Rather, it’s the complete letting go of things that makes all the difference. Our sensory acuity sharpens in the silence.
“Silence is so accurate.” ― Mark Rothko, Painter
At other times, I take my reprieve informally, like going for a walk by the ocean or even just sitting in my studio staring at (listening to) my painting, without commentary. I let things speak to me and the unknown, well, it finds me.
“Only in the stillness of detachment can the soul yield up her secrets.” — Elsa Barker, Poet
One thing I have learned with creative maturity is that, when I don’t take heed to silence and rest, I’m never quite right; I fall prey to frustration and increase my rate of reactive (poor) behaviour. It’s as if only this kind of deep beautiful rest can ever ground me and cleanse me of the wrongs in my life. This silent “nothingness” makes me a better artist and a better human on this earth — it’s a bridge to possibilities.
“It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing.” — Gertrude Stein, Writer
