do absolutely
nothing be effortlessly
aimless niksening!
I was raised in West Michigan where you often heard the odd phrase, “If you’re not Dutch, You’re not much.”
West Michigan has a history of being Dutch since the first batch of Dutch Protesting Protestants arrived back in the 1850’s.
And what were they protesting back home that they had to leave?
You know …
The use of the modern music in church and I am NOT making this up.
This one group was bound for Iowa when a promoter/developer met them in Buffalo and showed them pictures of the beautiful city on the lake in West Michigan.
The land there that this feller was selling was even cheaper than the land in Iowa, so West Michigan it was, but boy were they surprised when they got there to find all they had was a picture of what the town could be.
But I digress.
As I was saying, the saying was If You’re Not Dutch …
Turns out that has morphed into “If You’re Dutch, Don’t do Much!”
I read with much satisfaction the article The art of doing nothing: have the Dutch found the answer to burnout culture? by Viv Groskop in the Guardian on Feb. 7, 2024.
The Dutch have discovered Niksen!
Niksen?
Niksen means Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing!
Ms. Groskop writes, “in modern society there are lots of nice things to do. As a result, we do a lot.
The pace of life is higher than in non-western societies and the level of life satisfaction is also high and keeps rising.
And yet … A side-effect is that we get into time pressure.
And we dream of more relaxation.”
Niksen gives us what we crave: an explanation for what’s missing – the presence of nothing in our lives.”
Don’t get too excited as not much is changing about being Dutch.
Ms. Groskop quotes Carolien Hamming, the founder and CEO of CSR Centrum, a centre for research into stress and resilience just south of Utrecht, “It has nothing to do with our culture. On the contrary, we’re Calvinists and tell each other to work harder.”
So what is different?
Olga Mecking, the author of the book, Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing says:
“We always have in mind some kind of outcome.
When we prepare meals, we think, ‘This meal will help me lose weight or will make me healthier.’
If we go for a walk, it has to be part of our 10,000 steps.
So we lose that fun of just eating or just walking.
So it’s about letting go of the outcome.”
I like that.
Letting go of the outcome.
I like that a lot.
Doing something just to do something.
Going to the see something WITHOUT needed a selfie to prove you were there.
Just do it as my shoes say.
Letting go of the outcome.
I think I love that.
As Ms. Groskopf writes:
“… you don’t need to be Dutch or know the word niksen to do nothing, you can just … do it.
And there’s no way of doing nothing the wrong way.“
I have been practicing niksen most of my life.
No Haiku For You 