56-5102-man_doing_nothing-1376602494Being idle is a worthy occupation, particularly in these last days of summer. I was thinking about this in Provincetown over the weekend — how rare it is to do absolutely nothing — and how wonderful.  Dolce far niente, the Italians tell us.  It is sweet to do nothing.  That’s the subject of this Sunday’s Seeker’s Forum, called “In Praise of Idleness” as well as my new blog on Purple Clover.  We need to learn how to PAUSE in our hectic, ambitious lives.  As I say in the piece: “There are two speeds for moving through life … PUSH and PAUSE. I learned this from Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroscientist and author of the memoir, “My Stroke of Insight.” Following her cerebral hemorrhage (and subsequent satori experience) in 1996, Bolte Taylor mastered the skill of switching between her push and her pause. “Our left brain is all about push,” she explained. “But the right brain is about pause. We’re designed for both. I (know how to) use the tools of the left hemisphere to push into the world. But as soon as it becomes stressful, I can feel that in my body. I’m able to avoid the negative effect, the wear and tear. It’s a skill we can all develop.”  Nothing could be more important, especially as the last days of summer bring us to Labor Day and the starting gun shot of Fall.  Here’s to pausing a lot this season!  Let’s all remember to catch our breath.