Do you remember seeing the following comic strip in the Sunday paper? There were many wordless panels showing a boy and his best friend spending a terrific day running around, jumping in puddles, playing made-up games, chasing butterflies – in other words, just hanging out. In the last panel, the boy turns to his friend and says, “There’s never enough time to do all the nothing we want to do.”
Sounds familiar? It was a “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip by Bill Watterson. In that particular strip, Calvin and his friend Hobbes barely use any of Calvin’s toys, and we rarely see them do any of the chores or school work that were part of Calvin’s regular weekdays. All they do is enjoy being outside and hanging out together.
In the today’s world, we’re often surrounded by too much stuff: real stuff in our homes, cars and offices, and stuff to do in our calendars. Between cell phones and the internet, we have so much access to everything at all times.
Unlike Calvin in the comic strip, we’re not first graders. So it is even easier for us to miss out on all the nothing we can do with our own best friends and family members.
I hope as you face the rush of the end of the year, you also get to celebrate some nothing to do over the holidays with your favorite people. I wish everyone happy holidays and a safe, happy new year.
To Chicago clients: I will be in Chicago at the end of January and will be sending out dates soon to my Chicago list. If you’re not already on the list and want to be, feel free to send me an email at [email protected].
Very nice!