“Niksen” is a Dutch word (a verb) meaning “to do nothing.” It is a practice of just being, and can be understood as a way to get some rest. It can be watching clouds pass by, not scrolling through Facebook, or letting your mind wander (instead of reading emails or even making plans for the future). Purposelessness is an important aspect of niksen: it is “doing nothing” despite the health, productivity, and creativity benefits of rest and leisure—not because of them. There is no prescribed or specific activity or method, only purposelessness.
“Niksen” provides an interesting contrast to our modern society, where every minute has to be accounted for, spent in productive pursuits. Even modern leisure sems to take great effort and is expensive, the simplest of pleasures have been clouded by what we call “quantifiable goals.” We no longer eat food because it tastes delicious, we do it because it is healthy. We no longer go for walks simply because it feels good – we do it because we want to cross 10,000 steps off our to-do list.
Why do we feel like we have to be productive at all times? Why do we treat rest as something we have to earn? Why do we feel that we always have to “do” something, instead of just “be?”
(Adapted from Yes! magazine)
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Let us bear in mind St. Paul’s advice: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10, 31) Or, as Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, a famous Jesuit spiritual director of the early 18th century, said, “Let us enter into the sacrament of the present moment.”
