In Praise of Wasting Time by Alan Lightman

Author:Alan Lightman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/ TED

6 Downtime and Replenishment

A few years ago, I went to a ten-day Tibetan Buddhist retreat in a lovely rural area of Wisconsin. My wife was well practiced in Buddhist meditation and, for many years, had set aside twenty minutes a day for the activity. I had been trying it out now and then. Finally, I decided to give myself over to the experience at a bona fide retreat center. So I carved out a chunk from my schedule and headed for Wisconsin.

Each day, we participants sat through seven or eight hours of guided meditation, broken up by meals. For the rest of the time, we read, took long walks, and just abided alone with our thoughts. There was little else to do. The center had not orchestrated other activities. I don’t recall seeing any laptops or smartphones. None of us attempted to contact our workplaces or glance at our to-do lists. The meditation center itself was sprawled out in the middle of nowhere—surrounded by miles of farmland punctuated only by the occasional wood farmhouse and a few wandering cows.

Meditation is a beautiful and profound experience. While meditating, you quiet your mind as much as possible. You focus on the moment. When random thoughts arise, as they invariably do, you learn not to dwell on them but simply to acknowledge them and let them go, like momentary ripples on a lake. Needless to say, while meditating you are off the grid. You are free from the stimulation of the external world. You have dedicated a few minutes to stillness of mind.

Although the methodology has not always been of uniform quality, numerous studies have suggested the physical and psychological benefits of meditation. To mention only one recent study, psychologists Ruth Baer, Emily Lykins, and Jessica Peters at the University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University reported that the “psychological wellbeing” of seventy-seven regular meditators was significantly better than that of seventy-five non-meditators. Psychological well-being was measured on a scale with six elements: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. Biologist and leading meditation researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn and his collaborators have observed physical alterations in the brain produced by mindfulness meditation.

I found the meditation sessions to be restful, interesting, and valuable as a tool for reducing stress. But meditation is only one way of distancing yourself from the rush and heave of the world. Whatever psychological benefit I received from meditating during my ten days in Wisconsin, I derived an equal benefit from the quiet time outside the meditation room. Downtime. My mind was unleashed. And instead of trying to empty my mind, as one does in meditation, and letting my thoughts drift by like moving clouds, I followed my thoughts, but in an unhurried and liberated way. Without setting out to do so, I began sewing together the pieces of my life. I found myself recalling people and places of the past, conversations, words said and unsaid, deeds I was proud of and others I regretted.

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