Something drew me to the word dawdle today. Perhaps it is because that what I feel I am doing a lot of currently. I have plenty on my plate, as do most of you, and yet I still find time to dawdle. I think I also swept the word up because I like the way it sounds. It seems to sound just like what it means, especially if you say it in a long drawn out way…Daaaawddle.
I dawdled yesterday with the sweet woman who cuts my hair and learned about more of her creative endeavors. I dawdled texting back and forth with a friend who was looking to bounce an idea or two off someone. I dawdled over the big beautiful rose that is blooming in my front yard. I dawdled when petting the new puppy of one of my neighbors. All these things could be looked at as wasting time or procrastinating, and honestly, it may have been a bit of both of those. But it was also something else.
It was me connecting to other people, to nature, to living beings. It was me taking a moment from the list of must do, taking a moment from the must get done, and being in a moment of pause. It is in these small moments when worry can subside and tasks can take a timeout. To a great degree, it is in these in between moments that life truly occurs.To dawdle seems more attributable to doing—doing that which makes us more vibrant and connected. Dawdle does not have to mean wasting time, but rather wanting time to be with the moment at hand.
Not doubt, we all will have a lot we want to get done this weekend and we may need to focus pretty intently on getting it all done, but wouldn’t it be nice to find ourselves doing a little dawdling?