How to spend time by lying in the garden for an hour doing nothing

May 3rd, 11:00 AM. I suddenly decided to try lying in the garden for an hour. I live in the deep countryside, so my home property is 200 tsubo (about 660 square meters).
※This isn't just my house; it's so rural that all the surrounding houses are about the same size.😂

So, there are places to lie down everywhere.

The spot I chose to lie down in this time is the sunny area with artificial grass at the top of the photo.

10 minutes in. I realize my head is full of distracting thoughts.

The conversation in my brain won't stop.

30 minutes pass, and my consciousness turns outward.

60 minutes have passed.

There are still distracting thoughts and outward awareness, but my head feels clear. I even have the illusion that I have become a “tree” myself.

Searching for the most luxurious way to spend time

The reason I started doing this is because I had a question in my mind.

Since becoming unemployed, I have more time than anyone else, so I started thinking about things like that. Perhaps I am the number one“time-rich person”in Japan. (I wanted to be the richest person in Japan, but life doesn't always go as planned.)

In searching for a luxurious way to spend time, I have conducted many experiments since becoming unemployed.

After making the list, I thought to myself, “I see!”

＝＝＝＝＝The area above and below this dotted line represents my level of mental satisfaction. Above the dotted line is high satisfaction, and below the dotted line is low satisfaction. I just wrote down what came to mind, so this is not a ranking of satisfaction.

The area above and below the dotted line can be divided into “doing something yourself” and “being a recipient of services.” In other words, it is a perspective of“active” or “passive.”perspective.

This is just my case, but I feel refreshed after doing something “actively.” When I spend time “passively,” such as watching movies all day, I am left with a little regret, wondering, “Was that a waste of time?”

The area above and below the dotted line can also be divided from the perspective of "money." Above the dotted line is how to spend time using as little money as possible, and below the dotted line is how to spend time using money.

In society, a glamorous life that involves spending money is often envied.In the list from earlier, this would be things like a trip to Hoshino Resorts.

Of course, since I am spending a large amount of money for me to travel, the services and experiences I get there are wonderful. It is at a level where you could say, "As expected of Hoshino Resorts!"

But my level of satisfaction is sometimes higher when I cook a meal for my wife, even if it's clumsy, and she says, "This is incredibly delicious!"

The reason I cannot get satisfaction from a glamorous life that uses money is because I am conscious of others. Thinking about a trip to Hoshino Resorts, of course I enjoy it, but there might also be a perspective somewhere in my heart that I feel like I am being envied by others.

On the other hand, cooking for my wife is something that is completed within the family, as I make the food and my wife is happy. It doesn't matter to others that I cook. After all, I'm just an unemployed person cooking because I have free time.

So far, I have thought about "active" and "passive" ways of spending time, and ways of spending time that "use money" and "do not use money."

I want to take the discussion a little further.

The actions I listed were all about "doing" something. Whether it's cooking or watching a movie, regardless of the dotted line, they are all included in "doing."

The title "just lying in the garden for an hour doing nothing" is an act of "not doing." (Please refrain from pointing out that "lying down" is an act!)

I have a vague thought recently. It is thatthings might be seen more clearly if you think about "what is not."that is.

I am currently unemployed. Unemployed means a person who does not have a job. For example, when thinking about work, I feel that the overall picture of work can be seen more clearly if viewed from the perspective of "what is not," that is, the perspective of the unemployed.

Or, "just lying in the garden for an hour doing nothing" is the same. When thinking about a luxurious way to spend time, I feel that the overall picture can be seen more clearly if you use a way of spending time that is "not that," such as lying down without doing anything.

My mind is sharp today, so I want to take the discussion further.

While writing, I remembered a sentence from Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina."

Does this mean that when thinking about the abstract concept of a "happy family," it is useful to think about unhappy families that are "not" happy?

(Oh no. The topic is jumping around too much and I don't know how to bring it to a conclusion. If I were to force a conclusion...)

To understand abstract concepts like "a luxurious way to spend time," "rewarding work," or "a happy family," it might be easier to think about concrete examples of what they are "not."

I would like to end it here, but this is what I most wanted to convey in this article.

Lying in the garden for an hour doing nothing might be the most luxurious way to spend time!

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The content answers questions like these.
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The end!