I don’t meditate to calm a busy mind. I don’t take long walks to get good ideas or to get healthier. I don’t pay attention to my breath because I need to soothe my nervous system. Those things are enough in themselves. Why does everything have to have a purpose?
Those long walks having great, thoughtful conversations with smart people could be turned into a ‘product,’ some kind of long-form podcast or perhaps a commercial version as an extended coaching session? No thanks. Opportunism & instrumentalization—everything can be turned into means to an end. It’s a major disease in our culture that almost everything is done to achieve something else. Kids should play because playing is good, not to prepare them for something. Play is enough. Mindfulness should not be a bandaid on a hellish daily existence. That is also why I low-key hate ‘networking events’ where the only purpose is to meet people because it might be mutually beneficial. Note-taking and diaries are a big part of my daily routine, not because all those notes and recorded thoughts need a purpose, but because the act of thinking through writing feels good. And sometimes I do use a note for something else later, but even if I never did, it would still be worth it. But I want to try and share a bit more, for instance on this page.
Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time*
Sure, there may be all kinds of benefits and all sorts of good side effects of doing the things mentioned above, but things can be what they are in themselves. It’s enough. Doing things without purpose can even feel a bit provocative, but so be it.
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