Mind & mood / Perspective
What if an empty afternoon stayed empty?
On resisting the urge to turn every spare hour into an opportunity to get ahead.
A cancelled plan can arrive as an unexpected gift, followed almost immediately by a question: what should I do with the time? The mind supplies a list before you have finished putting the calendar away.
Sometimes there is something urgent to do. Sometimes there is only a habit of filling every gap. It can be interesting to tell the two apart.
Do the next small thing
Make lunch. Sit down somewhere comfortable. Open a book without deciding how much you will read. You do not need to choose the purpose of the entire afternoon at once.
A pause can be ordinary, even slightly boring. It does not have to become a meaningful experience to be worth having.
Keep the option open
You may eventually want company, a walk or a task with a satisfying ending. You may not. Leaving the choice open is part of the pleasure.
The afternoon will pass either way. There is no requirement to make a case for how you spent it.
