Really, It’s OK to Do Nothing Sometimes

The latest episode of Douglas Rushkoff’s Team Human podcast is pretty good. The guest, Tiffany Shlain, has written about about unplugging from screens one day a week in a practice that is sort of a modern day throwback to the notion of a weekly ‘sabbath’ or ‘Shabbat’. Some really interesting discussion ensues.

https://teamhuman.fm/episodes/ep-139-tiffany-shlain-unplugging-one-day-a-week-tribute-to-paul-krassner/

They talk about the notion that people don’t know how to just sit with themselves anymore – or that it’s become thought of as a bad thing to ‘sit idly’. I feel the generations my kids belong to will especially have no concept of this, or construe it mostly as ‘wasting time’ having been exposed/connected to tech their entire lives.

The reality is that in many cases time spent in self reflection, or simply being present in the moment with others without the distractions of tech, is time better spent but we’re not taught that anymore and indeed, most tech companies/platforms are trying to encourage the very opposite.

Just Ride It

Hello Friends. It would seem we all made it through another work week. Congrats. If you’re still feeling a little tense – up here in Canada our election is about to wrap up, and in the States’, well, it’s the States – I have a couple of options to perhaps ease your woes.

If you’re Canadian and voted already, good for you, your mind is probably clearer than those who haven’t. If you’re still hung up on which box you’re going to check, maybe give one of these a try.

You could hop on your cruiser bike and head to your favorite coffee spot, maybe meet up some with some friends. Take your time getting there, nod and smile at passersby on the way. I suggest you do as my buddy @spoke_n_words likes to say and, “let the breeze blow through your brains nicely.” I can think of no better way to sort out your thoughts.

Or maybe the slow roll ain’t your thing. Maybe getting out and getting the blood flowing is more your style – hopping on your carbon-go-fast-bike and hitting your favorite loop at 80% of your FTP is the best thing to clear your head. Remember what our mutual friend Tim Krabbé said, “On a bike your consciousness is small. The harder you work, the smaller it gets.” Kind of the Road Cyclist’s version of “free your mind, and your ass will follow.” I should think afterwards as you’re sucking down your powdered drink mix of choice, things might seem a bit clearer, or at the very least your head and pores will be.

Don’t let The Politics – mess you up kids, look past to the Big Picture. There’s no partisan way to ride a bike – it’s all the same action – corrective action. The bike is a simple machine that solves complex problems. You just have to ride it.

Mill Street Free Library

There are two free mini-libraries on my route to-from work. Today I stopped for the first time to hit one up. This one on Mill Street – hence ‘The Mill Street Free Library’ – only went up a week or two ago. It’s very well constructed, and I noticed as I opened it up and was sticking my face in it to browse how nice the freshly sawn wood smelled. My score? ‘The Odd Sea’ by Frederick Reiken. Once home I got half-way through it before bedtime. It’s very good. I have some books at home to drop here next time I’m by. Then I’ll have to check out the other free library on my route.