The Joy of Doing Nothing


Here's a very honest post from yours truly.

So... being a new mother is weird. I spend so much time on the couch feeding my baby, and holding a sleepy baby that it's like, what else do I do? So I pull out my phone and check Facebook and Pinterest. And then I realize, hey I've been on Pinterest for two hours. Ugh.

I don't think this problem is exclusive to me or other moms though. Anyone can spend all their time glued to their phone. 

Lately (meaning the last few days) I have been allowing myself to not "do" anything (at least while I'm holding my baby girl). I sit and let my brain wander and think for itself rather than let FB or Pinterest think for me. It's been pretty cool. You wanna know what you think about when you don't have to think about anything? Then don't do anything. Be still and let your mind go.

I remember several years ago at Christmas time my brother and his wife were visiting. They are pretty darn amazing, just FYI. I wanted to make a holly leaf for some project, and I decided to look pictures up on the internet to see what holly leafs looked like. My brother said NO! Don't look up pictures, make it up yourself. Did I mention that he's an artist? That little lesson has stuck with me. --Let my creative brain create something for itself, instead of copying something that's already been done." 

I thought about this lesson today as I envisioned cute Christmas pictures we could take this year. What did I do? I went on Pinterest and didn't find what I was looking for. Silly me, I should just plan it out in my mind and then execute it. No Pinterest required.

With so many distractions I can and will not be able to hear the still small voice of the Spirit unless I unplug frequently. Probably every day. Definitely every day. Here's part of a talk that Elder Packer gave in 1979!! entitled "Prayers and Answers":

Many years ago John Burroughs, a naturalist, one summer evening was walking through a crowded park. Above the sounds of city life he heard the song of a bird.

He stopped and listened! Those with him had not heard it. He looked around. No one else had noticed it.

It bothered him that everyone should miss something so beautiful.

He took a coin from his pocket and flipped it into the air. It struck the pavement with a ring, no louder than the song of the bird. Everyone turned; they could hear that!

It is difficult to separate from all the sounds of city traffic the song of a bird. But you can hear it. You can hear it plainly if you train yourself to listen for it.

It is difficult to separate from the confusion of life that quiet voice of inspiration. Unless you attune yourself, you will miss it.

Answers to prayers come in a quiet way. The scriptures describe that voice of inspiration as a still, small voice.

If you really try, you can learn to respond to that voice.

Gosh I love General Conference. 


          


When I say "do nothing" of course I don't really mean it. I mean having a still mind. Being reverent and able to be spiritually sensitive. That's not nothing! That's quite a lot of something, if you ask me. If we are always doing thing with our brains, such as:

wake up - check FB
get ready & go to work - work all day
OR stay home with baby and check Pinterest 20 times
drive home/wash dishes - listen to audible
come home - watch TV while you eat dinner
put baby to sleep - watch a movie or sit on the couch with your spouse while each of you play whatever stupid games you are addicted to on your phone
right before bed - read 10 verses of scriptures and pray as you fall asleep

Ouch. This kind of hurts my heart because of how familiar it sounds. 
If I- and we- keep doing this how do we expect the Spirit to EVER speak to us or influence us? Or perhaps the Spirit is speaking to us, but how can we listen and understand when we don't give it the time of day?

Okay, while I'm on this topic, I mentioned being reverent earlier. I've seen several pins on Pinterest about how to cutely teach your children about how to be reverent. They're all pretty much the same:

Your mouth is closed and quiet
Your arms are folded, or whatever
Your feet are still
Your eyes are attentive on the speaker or closed for prayers
blah blah blah

I'm sorry I don't mean blah blah blah. These things really are good and important. BUT What about our minds? I think to be truly reverent the most important attribute to have is a still mind. You can look like the most reverent kid in church and be SO NOT reverent. 

I'm not trying to preach. Okay, maybe I am, But not just to you, to me too. I need to be better. I need to be still. I need to unplug more often. Because I want to be spiritually sensitive. And creative. And more present for when my daughter grows older and realizes that I'm not paying attention to her. And more productive. And healthier.