My son, when asked to do anything he doesn’t want to do, will respond in a singular way. In a sweet, gentile voice, without making eye contact, he just says, “nothing.”
I mean he doesn’t sit quietly, he answers with a word, and that word is “nothing.”
It is not a direct refusal, because he doesn’t say “no.” He doesn’t look you in the eye with a defiant glare. He just says “nothing.”
He says it in such a sweet way, one almost wants to ask again, just to hear him say it.
I started to think about his philosophy of nothing and how wonderfully simple and powerful it is–a Zen master at the age of 12.
Last night I adopted his philosophy, became his disciple. I sent out emails saying “nothing” (or something to that affect) to everyone who was asking me to do things that were not directly related to my job or my family’s holidays.
I came into work light as a feather.
Try it — this philosophy of “nothing,”
but remember to be sweet and don’t make eye contact.
Mark