National Nothing Day

Yupp. That’s right. It’s time to celebrate, Nothing. Not one bit of fun, not one bit of care. NAah. *Whistles and tries to think of how to celebreate.. nothing. sip. silch. nada.*

This is a Un-event. It’s been around since 1973, so you know.. it’s been there, done that, got the t-shirt. It still hangs on and keeps going for another year. Maybe because humanity is a quite lazy species? We LIKE to do nothing. At least for a while, then we go crazy and starts to wear tinfoil hats and dance naked in the streets. We like the idea of having nothing to do, because there is always something to do. There is always some small thing that needs to get done, to be fixed, and that we keep pushing for tomorrow, because getting home from work exhausted we kinda feel like we are rewarded doing nothing for having done a lot. But those things out there needing to be fixed are still there in the morning when we wake up.

So why not take today off. And do nothing. Don’t even try to watch paint dry. Because that would be doing something. Don’t meditate, thats doing stuff. Don’t read. Don’t sleep. Don’t exist. Be nothing, to do nothing.

I would like a day of nothing, but sadly my day is to full of stuff that needs to be done, so I will not be able to participate in this. And a whole bunch of regular people out there will go do their regular stuff as well, I won’t be alone in ignoring this un-event. But maybe that is the point. It’s there for no reason, to have no obligation, no extras, nothing special. Maybe that is the whole point? To give us a day without those expectations of fixing stuff? Maybe I’ll take an hour or so off from my stuff I need to do, and try to be nothing, to do nothing for a while. Just because I can, and just because for once, laying around doing nothing is PRECISELY the way to go.

“Let’s run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it”

About half a century ago in U.S someone said this and they had quite a laugh about it. But then it’s become a catchfrase and it’s been in movies and joked about by famous people. It’s also wieved as somewhat arcane, and ridiculed. But what it also is, are an expression for trying out ideas. And that is what this Day is about. To try out ideas. It could have been any psychological experiment really, as I see it. The urban legend about the man standing outside a door to form a queue and people showing up behind him because they want in on the game, and then the first person just leaves. Or that experiment when they looked for responses to a fight in a highly populated area (everyone looked away and went about their day, because the fight wasn’t their problem). The whole thing is kinda a fix on human nature. At least the running up to the flagpole thing. It doesn’t express how it’s a new thing. So how it’s come to represent that I can’t really see, but it’s a good thing it actually exist.

This Day is about trying out something new. Maybe you have been thinking about a crazy haircut? Trying on that hideous, but strangly comfortably looking christmas present from smelly uncle Frank, experiment with habaneros in the kitchen, rock-climbing, or any other thing in your life you have been thinking about and havn’t gotten around to try out because you are afraid of what your friends and family will think or say. Today is the day when you can do it. But the main part I think is about presenting that idea of yours to a friend. Or family member, dammit, even the dog is a good choice if there is no one else around. One have to let go sometimes and throw the ideas out there to get some feedback to actually know what is working for you. And maybe your family will hate you for walking around in that offensice sweater, or your husband will choke on that paella filled with to much habanero, but the important thing is that you will have tried! And maybe you will find out that you don’t care what the family thinks about uncle Frank, because you have fallen in love with the sweater and my GAWD is it comfy, or that you actually liked that paella even if your husband havn’t stopped crying yet. Or maybe this friend of your goes and get the same haircut because you just look that damn good in it.

The reactions may vary, the feedback may not be positiv, but it may also be a way for finding a new side of yourself that will make yourself more comfortable in life, get a new friend, or grow some courage to it again the next time you have and idea that you like. It’s all about the trying, and another cheesy cliché goes “if thy falleth to the harden ground, keep picketh thyself up”. So run to that imaginary flagpole of yours today and try something you have been thinking about for a while but havn’t had the curage to try. It’s a good day to do it, and if you get ridiculed for it, blame me for pushing you into it. Or rather blame the guy that said the flagpole thing the first time (I don’t like crazy angry people showing up at my house with knives screaming “you ruined my life with your shitty advice”. The whole idea of evil stalkers make me wanna go hide in the basement, but if you wanna send flowers or better yet, choclate to thank me, good stalkers are welcome for a while, untill they go insanly wierd, than no less than 150 yards thanks to the restrainingorder I’ll order)

My celebration on this is going to be to send this blog out in the world, try it out on a few more friends, some unknown and some yet not befriended. I’ll go a different way (one never walked before) with the dog on the next walk, and try the bath that have been staring for me everytime I’ve been over to this house. It kinda scares me because it’s a ENORMOUS tub, with a loads of different metall-thingies along the sides, and I wouldn’t want to make it explode or break or better yet… not work while I try it. BUT I love baths, and so it’s a great day to try this thing out. Hopefully it’ll be alright.