This past November, I headed down to the Sea Island Resort for a “Big Chill” weekend with my husband and three other couples that I have been close friends with for over thirty years.  The Sea Island Resort, located on a barrier island off the coast of Georgia has served as an unrivaled Georgia luxury destination since 1928.  As I stepped into the grand lobby of the hotel which embodied the quintessential old money, good old boy southern hospitality, it was as if I had stepped back in time to an era reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s  The Great Gatsby.  It seemed like time stood still.  It was magical.

Prior to the trip, predictably I complained to my husband that I didn’t know how I was possibly going to be able  give up five days of my time to just “do nothing” when my “to do” list seemed to be exponentially expanding with every passing day.  Eventually, however I did acquiesce making a mental note to self that guilty pleasure is an oxymoron.  Shortly, after arriving at the resort, acquiescence turned into “quiescence”.  Yes, I said quiescence and I’ll tell you why.  And for those of you wondering “quiescence” is definitely a word, and quite an intriguing one at that.

I discovered the word quiescence while reading Leslie Temple-Thurston’s book   Marriage of Spirit.  Leslie refers to quiescence as an “ascended state” in duality consciousness. It is a state in which you observe your life experience from a place of neutrality recognizing your limited patterns or beliefs as just that, rather than getting caught up in the emotional drama of the same.   In fluid mechanics quiescence is the state of a fluid that lacks any movement.   In behavioral neuroscience/zoology, quiescence states that an animal is vigilant but relaxed and immobile.   In volcanolgy, quiescence refers to an active volcano when it is not erupting.  In computer science, acquiescence equals a data item that is not actively being charged.  So you get the idea.  It is all about the being rather than the doing. 

One of the opportunities that helped me to experience quiescence during my stay at the beautiful Sea Island Resort was my daily visits to the Koi Pond.  The fish were mesmerizing.  The Japanese recognize the Koi for their beauty, but also for their ability to transform the observer into other worldly states of perception.  The Japanese believe that these  altered states of perception ultimately lead to the attraction of higher energy and that this can manifest in the form of prosperity of all kinds in our lives.

My daily experience with the Koi offered me the opportunity to alter my perceptions of  my own  guilt associated with doing nothing.  During these visits, I allowed myself to sit in complete silence and just observe with no guilt, and  no apprehension of what I should be doing at that moment.  I was in the flow…  I was fluid without movement.   What an amazing concept.  Fluid without movement, active without erupting, vigilant but relaxed.   I am reminded of one of my favorite author’s Oriah and her words in The Dance:

Don’t tell me how wonderful things will be…someday.  Show me you can risk being completely at peace, truly okay with the way things are right now in this moment and again in the next and the next and the next….

As the weekend progressed and I became more fluid, I learned that going with the flow means taking responsibility for my own experiences.  Is it my should?  Who says I should? Why should I?   

I learned that “creating busy”  becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  The more you tell yourself that you are busy, the busier you become.  I learned once again that perception is everything.

Ultimately, what is doing all about anyway?  It is about justifying my existence to the world. After all, the busier I am the more necessary I become.   Ultimately, I am projecting my sense of not good enough on the rest of the world because maybe it is just too painful to sit in the present and just be.

 I recently just completed my Soul Mission Collage for 2011. Conspicuously in the “house of preparation” section of the board, I have placed a picture of a woman sitting on a dock with the caption “doing nothing”.  The idea of the Soul Mission Collage is that you don’t know the relevance of placement  of pictures and words until you have completed the board. This part of the vision board is  about what needs to be nurtured within me at this time. What is my inner voice telling me regarding my life at this time?  Funny how I just noticed in this moment that right below this picture, I have placed the words “sow the love”.  Wow, so in this moment I get it.  It’s 4:33am on New Years Day 2011 and I get it!   How profound….don’t you just love the way the Universe works?  Learning how to just do nothing is all about loving me.   So no wonder I am always fighting “just doing nothing”.