The “so what” was said to mean: whether you are addled, rattled, depressed, ecstatic, thrilled, terrified, despairing, or discontented, you are not the leading actor in your idiosyncratic, spotlighted melodrama. It’ll pass. You’re a speck of dust on an orbiting pebble in the cosmos. This reminded me of an off-the-cuff bit of wisdom a mentor breezily passed on to me decades ago: “Nothing matters very much; most things not at all.”
The “do nothing” part was said to mean: face it, feel it, suffer it, humor it, ride it out, don’t escape it. Otherwise, it will sneak up on you anyway when you least expect it. What is “it”? Any tide of emotion. Anything.
With all that in mind, here are my Twelve Commandments of So What - Do Nothing:
- You shall pause, reflect, and shrug your shoulders.
- You shall look at where your feet are.
- You shall look up into the sky at midnight on a cloudless night in a deep forest.
- You shall follow your breath, in and out, in a quiet space.
- You shall accept and honor your self, with all your diamonds and all your rust.
- Remember this day as holy, fleeting, and precious.
- Restrain your tongue, pen, and Send button.
- Don't do the next right thing — not yet.
- You shall let it come.
- You shall let it be.
- You shall let it go.
- You shall smile.
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