This may sound a little strange and I’m not sure if it works for everyone, but when I’ve been feeling restless and I notice that my mind can’t find pleasure or satisfaction with anything, rather than seeking something to fill the void, I try sitting with it as long as I can.

Your first natural instinct is to seek out pleasure, distraction, meaning, and satisfaction, but amazing things and especially insights can occur if you try to stay and embrace the boredom and lack of fullfillment.

It can feel very uncomfortable not to feel productive or satiated, but at the same time, it can be a very amazing growth and learning experience to pass through these periods of your life without exertion or struggle. (And yes, this is not the last time. These feelings come to us when we’re 18, 28, 38, and probably will until the day we die.)

So what if we didn’t always given in to that struggle and play that tug of war with ourselves?

Allow me to paint a picture; imagine yourself approaching a running stream and feel this desperate need to want to cross it. You see a stepping stone that you think will help you get across and you jump on it. From that stone, you see another that you think will bring you closer to the other side so you jump on that one. And you continue jumping from stone to stone, but none of them are placed in such a way that will allow you to cross the stream leaving you frustrated jumping back and forth.

So what would happen if instead, you just sat by the water’s edge and watched the river flow by for awhile. What if you started breathing deeply, connecting with your surroundings, and appreciated the sound of the water, the sun’s rays bouncing off the surface, the wind blowing around you, and the trees casting shadows. Eventually, I believe, you’ll discover an entirely new world around that perhaps you weren’t aware of as well as some insights about yourself that could only be found by doing absolutely nothing.

Like I said, it may not work for everyone, but I invite you try this excercise of just sitting with the restlessness, observing it, and not struggling against it. It has worked really well for me in the past and I hope to continue to this practice in the future.