Rental Person Who Does Nothing

by Shoji Morimoto

By narrowing the scope of possibilities, I began to understand what I wanted and, in the end, realized that my only choice was “do nothing.” Now, as Rental Person, I enjoy life and have no conflict with anyone.

To be a researcher meant staying at university and I knew there were many more gifted people there than me. And I wasn’t exactly gushing with enthusiasm anyhow. In fact, there were lots of reasons not to pursue that idea. I felt myself rejecting it in a physical way. A feeling of aversion and disorientation overcame any desire I had to be a researcher. That’s the kind of person I am.

I’m just a neutral, harmless figure in a crowd.

also find Rental Person interesting. I’m curious about things—not very curious, just curious.

broad kind of curiosity, but not a de...

I can find almost everything interesting.

“I didn’t realize you were so human. I like you for that.”

I consciously try to avoid acquiring a “character.”

The novelty of Do-nothing Rental was to turn that idea on its head.

there are so many things people want to talk about but can’t. At least, they can’t talk to people they know.

I’ve never felt this kind of thing with people I know.

With friends, even if you’re chatting away without anything better to do, you don’t reveal everything, and you don’t talk about yourself nonstop.

You have to keep a balance to maintain the relationship.

I think I’ve looked at people in a different way, realizing that even the most ordinary, upright-looking people may not be what they seem.

Perhaps it’s not just me who feels security in seeing someone just once; maybe some of my clients do too.

When I go drinking with a group and I’m having a perfectly nice time, people sometimes say things like “You’re not saying much. Are you OK?”

With friends, a conversation generally stays within expected parameters. There’s an understanding that you talk about certain things.

Everyone has to accept there are times when they can’t talk about what they want to talk about.

I think that talking to someone about a problem is to put your weakness in their hands.

The client had bipolar disorder, and so was subject to repeated mood swings,

it’s just a simple desire to have someone there.

I like to be free, so I normally do things on my own, but it was so nice to have the security of a companion.

This kind of vague relationship, which falls short of “friendship,” can be quite convenient. You don’t feel you have to worry too much about the other person—there’s no sense of expecting anything from each other.

it’s normally reassuring in life to have particular names for relationships: friend, boyfriend/girlfriend/partner, couple, and so on.

once a relationship is fixed, it seems to carry restrictions and responsibilities.

Every named relationship entails particular things you have to do, certain expectations that you have to meet.

The idea of “followers” on Twitter and Instagram reflects a new type of relationship, with those involved often not even knowing each other’s real names.

It allows people to feel less isolated, while letting them avoid the obligations of more fixed relationships.

To give something a name is to distinguish it from other things. It draws a line.

I thought Do-nothing Rental wouldn’t be very interesting if the clients were my direct source of income.

Instead of money, they were, in a way, paying me through their creativity.

Many people these days are very conscious of getting a proper return for expenditure.

For Do-nothing Rental, important issues related to money are: The critical issue of how to get income to continue (my problem). The issue of how human relationships often require money (a general problem for everyone).

My main concern was to do something interesting.

Maybe it’s best to think of it as something I’m doing for fun (like a trip abroad I’ve saved up for).

If I said I was volunteering, I’d feel I was expected to be a person of pure goodwill.

I’d hate to read tweets saying, “Not what I expected,” or “What a disappointment!” So it’s best to keep people’s expectations low.

there’s the passive enjoyment and stimulation of hearing about people’s situations.

I refuse requests when my gut reaction is that I can’t do it or I don’t want to.

building and maintaining a relationship involves costs in terms of time, energy and money.

besides financial cost, there are costs in terms of emotion and energy.

this psychological burden is the cost of adapting to the other person.

To reach the stage where you can just be yourself with the other person takes a lot of time and energy.

spend long periods hesitating whether to say things or not.

The feeling that I have received more than I should from somebody is a source of extreme stress. If

I think people are tired of the cycle of excess reciprocation.

Giving makes people feel good; it lets them feel positive about themselves.

Through this do-nothing service, I’ve encountered a lot of different perspectives on money.

Everybody wants money and it’s difficult not to feel stressed when you don’t have it.

want to remember what I’ve got to do this week, but normal reminders and memos never work for me. Can I send memos to you by DM? If I send them to someone I think I’ll remember.