A Whole Day of Doing Nothing

I've been really unlucky lately. Things keep going wrong. Yesterday on the way somewhere, I said to Jiahua:

"This feels so mysterious. I think my energy and my aura have been really off lately. Those two words aren't materialist at all, but I think they describe it best."

It feels like being wrapped in something soft and sticky. My body has strength, but I can't use any of it.

I told Jiahua I planned to go home and sleep big (although honestly I sleep big every day), then wake up the next day and curl up at home and do nothing.

That's my usual way of dealing with this kind of state: pause life for a day.

The good news is that when I woke up this morning, I did feel lighter, and my throat didn't hurt as much.

On this day, I deliberately skip a lot of my usual routine: no gym, no reading, no going out of my way to chat with anyone, not even proper meals. If I think seriously about this "energy" and "aura" business, and suppose they really do exist, then what should I do when my energy is weak and my aura is out of whack?

I think pausing for a day like this is really about using less energy and crossing fewer auras.

Everything in daily life uses up energy, especially things like work, socializing, and studying, which need constant input and output.

So staying home all day, doing nothing and talking to no one, is in a sense the most direct way to cut down how much energy I use.

And it's not my first time. Past experience tells me it works, even if I can't explain why with any physical evidence.

Can life be paused for a day?

For a young person living alone like me, absolutely.

Over the long stretch of daily life, we always build up small feelings, and they can burst out at any moment.

For me, this past month of bad luck came flooding up together with a toothache.

At times like this, instead of scrambling for a solution, it's better to stop first and do nothing.

Or rather: doing nothing is itself a solution.

A simple one.

And often, the simpler it is, the better it works.

Life can be paused for a day.

Let your body and mind go blank. Let them rest too, with no tasks to carry out.

Don't get down because of bad luck, and don't get anxious because you're in bad shape.

Just:

"Oh, I've been a little unlucky lately."

"Yeah, I haven't been in great shape lately."

And stop there. Nothing more.

Maybe that's the only way the so-called "aura" slowly settles and the "energy" quietly comes back.

As for how energy and aura are connected, I couldn't tell you.

It's just that every time I sink into a slump like this, I find that doing nothing is often the best thing to do.

If you've been feeling inexplicably low lately too, try doing what I do. Pick a day, don't work, and don't think.

Maybe an unexpected lightness will quietly find its way back.