Oh, It's Nothing

Madame M:

Since you’ve nominated me to be in charge of this… :)

I’m thinking that the best time would be the first full week that contains the present 4^th of July holiday.  That’s prime summer, minimal productivity, high energy, warm, low maintenance, etc., as well as far away from other holiday periods and (usually) school sessions.  And for the shoulders-to-the-grindstone crowd, combining it with the holiday would mean only four days that would be “additional.”

The naming of it we could have all sorts of fun about: National American Week.  Know Your Country Week.  Know Americans Week.  National Independence Week.  Social Health Week. Invest In Relationships Week.  National Socializing Week.  Community Week.  American Holiday Week. The Beauty of Nature Week.  Social Network Week.  Friends and Family Week.  The Power of Many Week.  Break From Work Week.  National Time Out Week.  Citizens Week.  America’s Gift To Its People Week.  Celebrate Americans Week.  Joyful Nothing Week.  Mid-Year Pause Week.  Happy Mid-Year Week.  One Fifty Two (1/52).  Enough Week. :)

Kwanzaa has been established in the “slow” period from December 26 to January 1, but its inspiring principles could perhaps be carried over to this National Holiday Week.

It’s not precisely fitting into what I have in mind, but it has kernels, and readers may find interesting a Home and Family Specialist’s “Week of Holidays” celebration:  http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=54&sid=1580843

You are right that our culture has difficulty setting work aside.  We will need the 20 and 30 somethings to help out in making this National Holiday Week a cultural taboo about work, as they have been less indoctrinated with a hyper-work ethic (as well as seeing the effects on their parents).  No talking about it and especially no doing it (the emergency services folks unfortunately having to be the exception).  We have to make it socially/culturally boorish to talk about or do work then—sort of a social anathema.

We may also need a bit of help to make sure it doesn’t become “projects” week, where people spend it home remodeling, cleaning, sprucing, fixing, etc.  Given the American propensity to leave not enough time for that in the “regular” work year, creative ideas about that will be needed.

And while there should be few to no “rules” for the week, perhaps there could be various guideline templates for people and communities to get ideas—or at least see what others are doing or planning to do.  Of course, although a rich array of interesting and exciting possibilities is great, so is complete flexibility and latitude—including the latitude to do that Italian mode of the sweet joy of doing “nothing” (well, nothing planned).  I’m thinking of what a very hard working friend of mine once told me:  His wife was always wanting him to do a bunch of things after he got home from a balls-to-the-wall business trip, and he knew he both wanted and needed to do “nothing, and a whole lot of it.”

Seems like nothing keeps coming up time and again. :)