Franz Kafka once expressed the feeling of aimless waiting in a striking passage:
“It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will writhe in ecstasy at your feet.”
To recognize is enough, to be still and present.
The Practice of Meditation
Kafka could hardly describe the essence of non-intentional meditation more aptly—it is a time when there are no goals to achieve, no progress to measure. It is a state of simple being, in which being itself is already sufficient.
You can try it out:
Sit in a quiet place, whether it’s a desk, a chair, or a small corner in the room where you are undisturbed. Lean back, close your eyes, and direct your attention to the breathing from within, without controlling it. Feel the inflow and outflow of breath, without wanting to bring about a change. Don’t wait for the head to calm down or for thoughts to disappear—that is part of the moment, a flowing river that you simply watch.
The Freedom of Doing Nothing
By allowing oneself to simply be “there,” a special freedom opens up. It is the opposite of control and results-orientation, and yet it is that state that allows one to be happy because one is connected. The moment needs no efficiency; in this way, life itself can appear in its entirety, without judgment and without a goal.
