A Short Essay About Resting…

20 Jun 2015 1 Comment

by John P.Schulz in quotes and notes Tags: , , , ,

Quotes and Notes #222, June 20

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”—John Lubbock, “The Use of Life.”—

Some of the greatest accomplishments of mankind are developed while resting. You may see me in a lounge chair in the shade with an unread book across my lap. You may notice that I’m gazing up at the under sides of the tree leaves above me. You may think that I’m wasting time.

But I’m not wasting time, I am working. I am solving the problems of humanity and building a tall skyscraper. I am working up energy to water the plants or to write the Great American Novel. There’s no limit to what I can accomplish while resting, so please don’t interrupt me.

I have a secondary quote submitted by my friend Sylvia Eidson:
“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.
It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.”
~H.. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Everything is going to be all right
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

resting leads to accomplishment

resting leads to accomplishment

The Joys of Wasting Time

12 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

by John P.Schulz in quotes Tags: , , ,

Quotes and Notes #159, April 12

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”–Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “The Little Prince”—

When I was in the second grade, the teacher wrote a note to my mother that said, “Johnny wastes too much time.” That was over sixty years ago and I still remember.

I know now that what that teacher didn’t understand was that I was involved in the important work of day-dreaming. I never quit. When I was much, much older, I learned to couple this practice with an activity and even later I learned that pruning bonsai trees was a very good way to focus on the day dreaming. It was an excellent way to waste time, but it also resulted in some beautiful trees.

For the past ten or so years, I have wasted time with my writing. It makes me feel good when I express my private feelings in a journal. It makes me feel good when I write a book that makes people laugh, or makes them cry, or which makes the ladies go “awww.” It really makes me feel good when my day-dreaming-writing helps someone.

Join me in the pleasures of wasting time.

Share a smile

Everything is going to be all right.

John P. Schulz

“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Wasting time at the Chatooga River

Wasting time at the Chatooga River

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