#rest more

*buttoning up the house at 5pm and turning on the lamps for evening glow—yes it’s dark at 5pm, but the timing makes a really clean transition from work mode to chill mode

*seeing our coat and shoe racks overflowing with jackets and shoes — evidence that this house is lived in and loved

*jazz playing at night while making dinner

*reintroduction of our hearty winter meals — baked sweet potatoes, squash soup, chili

*cuddly cat is more cuddly than usual

*annual re-breaking in my toasty hiking socks

*hot tea throughout the day instead of just at night

*washed all of our winter fleece and remade our beds with flannel sheets

*I usually only burn candles in fall and winter so it was fun to get them out

*the house is taking a deep breath because I’ve just finished fall cleaning and it’s between Halloween decorations and Christmas decorations

*as a maker, the corner of my living room is a proper art studio as I begin Christmas woodworking, sewing, and painting

“Being idle,” Andrew Smart writes in his book The Art and Science of Doing Nothing, “is one of the most important activities in life.” The core idea behind the book is a neuroscientific argument to rest more, not less.

Chronic busyness is not only bad for your brain but can have serious health consequences. “In the short term,” Smart writes, “busyness destroys creativity, self-knowledge, emotional well-being, your ability to be social— and it can damage your cardiovascular health.”

These are some of the direct effects but there are indirect effects too. When we’re in a rush we tend to stop thinking. In a sense, we make too many decisions so our minds take the path of least resistance. The by-product of this is that we end up doing things we might not otherwise do, like eating at McDonald’s more often because it’s “easy.” That’s not to mention the effect it has on your relationships and kids. I know couples who’d be divorced except that they’re too busy to realize how miserable they are (although maybe that’s by design).

Smart argues that boredom or the incubation period or whatever fancy name you want to give to idleness is the key to self-knowledge.

“What comes into your consciousness when you are idle can often be reports from the depths of your unconscious self— and this information may not always be pleasant. Nonetheless, your brain is likely bringing it to your attention for a good reason. Through idleness, great ideas buried in your unconsciousness have the chance to enter your awareness.”

If ever there was a key to ourselves it may be idleness. It not only opens the door to health but it is the solid foundation that enables everything else. Drive is important. So too is practice. But the benefits of those things are compromised over a long period of time by our lack of idleness. We can learn a lot from the wisest Americans. As they say, no one ever sat up in their death bed and wished they worked harder or longer.