Busy doing nothing?

These days it seems that every waking moment must be filled with something.  Train carriages are crammed with people tapping furiously on laptops, checking out the latest app on their smart phone or gazing lovingly at their ebook.  Not that I have a problem with folk reading, it's just that sometimes it's good to simply gaze out of the window and watch the world go by.

Happy to credit this if someone can tell
me who took it.

It's the same on the fells.  In the past I've written about high speed hikers steaming through and bagging the summits but, for me, missing the point.  Racing to the top and shooting off the obligatory photos next to the trig point before racing back down again, or on to the next summit.  And then there are those so deeply engrossed in conversation that they miss the scenery, the wildlife and peace of the place.

The photo to the right appeared in my timeline today and it really struck a chord.  So much so that I shared it on my Facebook page where it is by far the most "liked" and viewed item I've posted on there in a long time, proving that it struck a chord with many others too.  I believe it was taken at the Grand Canyon but the sentiment is true wherever you are.

I guess it's "each to their own" and it "wouldn't do if we all liked the same things" but there is an enormous healing quality in time spent doing nothing.  I think the fells should be available on the NHS for anyone suffering from the fall out of modern life.  "Take 1 trip to the Lake District and spend at least 1 hour each day sitting still and enjoying the scenery."  Nature's answer to Prozac; the drugs companies would hate it.