next meaningless thing
I happen to be thinking sitting here with music playing about what we do. How we act. What it is out there and in here that we think we need.
Like we all want to find some meaning. I got asked the question about the meaning of life in an interview here. It has no meaning. It’s not supposed to. We are supposed to attach the meaning. Life has no brain. No rationality. It cannot pick a thing from a range of things. Choose a path or deny one. What we need is the meaningless thing. The thing we do for its own reason. Not because someone else says it’s cool, or that we must, or it’s a thing on someone’s bullet list.
I also read about creating a minimalist note taking experiences lately. The way it’s supposed to be is we dedicate a page to a thing. A physical page or perhaps whatever a digital page might be. This whole thing is supposed to give us something. Meaning. Clarity. Purpose. I’m all for it but I don’t need minimalist note taking or any kind at all. I don’t do notes. At one point, I thought I could. I could just write things. Whatever things did not matter. Hey! I was busy creating. Making. Doing.
What I found though is that was all forced and I got nothing out of it. So instead of doing things that bring nothing, I decided I must do the next meaningless thing. I believe we do too many things because they have meaning. We torture ourselves when things are just random or uncounted or not managed. If we cannot number them or create structure we have not succeeded. So instead, do things with no meaning. Here’s a list of things to try:
- go for a walk. Leave your Apple Watch, your phone, everything at home. Just go. You won’t get lost. You won’t find anything either. It will be you and the world right out there.
- delete your list of bullets and priorities and next steps. Leave your GTD to fester and pump itself up at home. Instead find yourself in the middle of nothing. Revel in it. Perhaps you will see this is the first time you did not find an actionable state or add a todo list item. Or zettel your kasten (whatever that means, duh).
- do something less. Reach for less or doodle on a page or write something that makes no sense at all. Have a coffee somewhere and just watch. You don’t need to problem solve or find answers. I’m sure the questions will wait.
- go buy something you don’t need or want. Something small that looks cute or different. A stuffed animal. A postcard. You get the idea. This is not about you or it. It’s about you and it. It has no meaning. So go do it.
- sometimes I just go have a beer. I sit at this restaurant and decide it’s time. Time to do absolutely nothing but watch my beer slowly disappear. I see other people and one person is busy with a notepad and a tablet. I don’t do those things. I don’t have a notepad or a tablet. I have an older iPhone. Does that count? Instead I do what it is I decided. Have another beer.
what’s to gain
Well, nothing. Remember this is an exercise in doing meaningless things. You are not looking to achieve. You are doing these things for their own sake not for some belief you have they will bring clarity and purpose.
There’s no reason to do these things. And there’s no reason to not do the things. There ain’t no damned reason at all either way. I just have found the same ole same ole about what people think are reasonable things to go do. Instead, I advocate we do things that have no meaning. Have a milk shake. Go walk 5 miles when you usually do 3 miles. Do anything. Or nothing. Do both.
This is your time remember.
Time for you to do meaningless things next. Now go have fun. Oh... Did I mention time is not really real. That should make it easy to do meaningless things and find some joy in it all. You will thank me later. I’ll just sit and read a bit. Let me know when you’re done.
BTW, I don’t charge for any of this.
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