By Virginia Vickers Braun
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day,” said Winnie the Pooh in the 2018 movie Christopher Robbin. “Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.”
I’ve been doing nothing for almost a year now and actually enjoying it. I’m happily holed up with my dog and my cat, and as Pooh Bear likes to say, we are enjoying “Pooh time”—doing nothing together.
Unlike many people with school-age children at home, I have been cherishing stress-free alone time. I can sleep as late as I want and stay up as late as my dog lets me; I can wear sweats every day; I have had no appointments on my schedule so I can’t be late for anything; and I don’t have to feel guilty about not getting anything done or wasting time. There’s always tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get around to cleaning my closets, organizing my kitchen drawers or sweeping out my garage. But, honestly, I doubt it.
I’ve appreciated the subtle changes in my life. I can spend all morning reading long interesting articles on a variety of subjects and doing the crosswords in the two newspapers I get. I enjoy being alone with the thoughts in my head so much I don’t even play music or turn on the TV. I haven’t missed going shopping, which I actually don’t enjoy. The less time spent wandering the aisles, the better.
In many ways, my life has become richer. I’ve started hiking again, something I stopped doing because my 17-year-old Dachshund isn’t able to walk very far. Making it to the top of the hill and taking in the beauty of the mountains gives me as much pleasure as revisiting a favorite foreign country. The views are breathtaking! To my amazement, nothing has changed since my last trip. I can’t help wondering why I stayed away so long.
I also find I am socializing with my neighbors more than ever, since we all bump into each other, figuratively speaking, while walking around outside. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such friendly people, who genuinely care about me and who look out for each other. And I feel this shared isolation has made us all better people. We appreciate every person who shows up to work at the post office, the grocery stores and the take-out restaurants. Now my calendar is starting to fill up with appointments, and I’m not sure I’m ready to get back into the full swing just yet. I can’t help wondering if our lives will be permanently changed as a result of the social isolation forced upon us. Will our society be a, kinder, gentler one? Will we take time to enjoy more walks in the woods? Will we have rediscovered the simpler joys of life, as Christopher Robbin did, and take time to just enjoy being?