"Purposeful Indolence" or "Being Lazy for Good Reason:"

   Have you ever had your words come back to you?  Something said to someone else and now they are using it in conversation with you !  So it happened this week when I was meeting with a client who is trying to maintain a semblance of balance in his life during a pandemic.  Professionally, he was already experiencing heightened anxiety and the 'new reality' of Covid is exacerbating  his  situation.

   A component of his coping strategy he said was to improve his capacity for  'purposeful indolence', and he chuckled, reminding me that several sessions back, I had used those words with him.  At the time, I was not suggesting sloth or laziness or what a colleague once labeled  sorriness. Rather I proposed that the Purposeful intent resembled something like "take a break for the purpose of  restoring energy, focus, clarity.

  By contrast, a long ago friend remembered his father's injunction: "I don't care what you do, son; but do something."  Rather like the cliche to the effect that " an idle mind is the devil's workshop.  Some might go so far as to claim that the old  Puritan work ethic of staying always busy is counter-productive for human well being.

   Suggestions I have heard for  being purposefully indolent include taking a walk, listening to soothing music, napping, just sitting still, reading one's Holy Book, meditation, physical workouts, 

yoga, going fishing,
loving a pet, making music , watching the sunrise . . . 

   (Certainly, there are among us those for whom such a notion can sound like 'privilege' . . . e.g. front-line health care workers, grocery store personnel, maintenance and housekeeping workers, as well as so many behind the scenes people  who 'keep things running'.)

   Recently a friend sent a picture of a resting dog and the caption "Sometimes the best therapist has fur and four legs."Along with our almost 18 year old Shit-zu, we have been enjoying feral Mamma Cat and her sole kitten who frequently dine on our deck.

  What have you found helpful in your experience of Purposeful Indolence ?

       Satchel