I've got a girlfriend that says that one of the best things in life to do for your own growth and development is to take a DUMB DAY. What is a dumb day you ask?
Well....a dumb day is a day that you do not try to solve any of your life's problems ...real or imagined.
You do not call the bank, accountant, or HMO provider. You do not go on a diet, join a gym, or attempt the New York Times crossword puzzle. You do not attend the new Anthony Robbins seminar entitled, "Mimicking the successful paradigm of your financial consultant." You do not confront your boyfriend/girlfriend/ husband/wife/ significant other/not so significant other, with any of your frustrations, disappointments, or bad root canal stories. Basically you do not sign up or join, nor do you commit to, anyone or anything. If your business partner wants to meet for cocktails and sardine appetizers the answer is, "NO." If your landlord wants to discuss the new airline runway destined to go through your living room the answer is, "NO." If you have a delivery package from Neiman Marcus or Hattie's Hot Tubs waiting at the post office ...you do not pick it up. If there is a shoe sale at Nordstroms ...(Well that is obviously not a good example...)
Continuing on..
If your friend can get you into a new self-help course entitled, "Miraculous Lives," for an all time low price of $99.95 you say, "NO." Everything is NO NO NO NO NO NO.
And why do you ask?
Because you are taking a DUMB DAY.
A dumb day begins with eating some kind of dumb meal, one that does not demand cooking, cleaning, chopping, spicing, baking, gardening, grating or juicing. Cereal in a plastic throwaway bowl and plastic throwaway flatware is preferable. There should be no showering, primping, dressing, moussing, or douching. The preferred dress is ripped non-matching pajamas, worn slippers and the oldest bathrobe that hasn't been thrown out yet. The events of the day will need to include as many reruns of Law and Order as the TV day has available. There is an abundant amount of this programing so that will not be a problem. For lunch anything wrapped in cellophane that doesn't have an expiration date of 1882 is acceptable. Dinner is a frozen TV dinner with no more than 2 lines of microwave instructions. Cooking time not to exceed 5 minutes. There will be no defrosting.
You will not do your nails, catch up on bills or watch world news. You will accept that on this day you will not be inspired, enthused, or motivated to do anything except be dumb.
There will be no insight into your life, and no baking bread from scratch. You will not put a new hard drive into your computer, take up Italian, prune the rose bushes, macrame a pull over, practice Tai Kwondo, nor go door to door selling Teflon coated furry welcome mats. You will not mail cards, wrap gifts, or give your pet turtle a bath.
Turn over all the self-help posters in your home..cover up.." A life unexamined is not a life worth living." The only thing you will be examining today is your TV remote. There will be no dusting, polishing, or meditating. You will not answer the phone, run the dishwasher, take out the trash, or paste photos in an album. You will not "be nice" to anyone. You will not mow the lawn, talk to the neighbors, or sign up for Thai cooking class. And most importantly you will not not not..do you hear me? not get on the bathroom scale, or log onto Facebook.
So why??? Well in todays world of too much ... too many errands to run, too many phone messages, too many e-mails, and too much self-degradation for not being able to keep up with too much to do, it's nice to get dumb once in awhile. The world demands that we stay in touch, on our mark, on top of our game, on top of it all....and that my dear friends is just tooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. There are too many demands on our time, our lives, and our spirits. So, get dumb. In the 60's or 70's or whenever.... they named it....."tuning out." It's now the 21st century and time for a more dignified name. My pal named it DUMB DAY.
Seems like a perfect name to me.
Love and Laugh
Minnie Madden
