The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World

by Nancy Colier

It’s in between activities and tasks that we give life to unformulated intuitions and reignite the embers that linger within us. Nothing to do is the most nutrient-rich food for the human imagination. It’s in the unfilled spaces that we develop the confidence that comes from being able to engage our own minds and know that we can take care of ourselves in this way — without needing a suitcase full of devices to babysit us. This kind of confidence is profound and lasting, not at all the same as the feeling that comes from knowing that we have enough apps and enough bars on our phone to stave off any potential boredom. All of us, children and adults, need to be able to tolerate and reside in the experience of having nothing to do — it is part of growing up, as well as part of just being alive. A hollow is a place where a nest can be built. When we send our children to their rooms to play on their own, we are giving them the opportunity to discover and invent something, to engage themselves. Playing alone — without a device — teaches children that they can rely on their own creativity and imagination. Furthermore, it allows them to experience what it feels like to imagine something into being. Such play makes children self-reliant and teaches them to take ownership of and responsibility for their own attention.