We live in a world where everyone is trying to fix something. There is self-help and life coaching to fix people’s broken lives. There is international aid to “fix” the downtrodden. And there are the interventions to “fix” the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

And then there is the view of British scientists that the best thing to do with the oil spill is…nothing. Yes, nothing. Do nothing. According to an article published in the Mail & Guardian (Doing nothing might have been best for BP oil spill), chemical intervention to break up the oil faster does more long-term environmental damage than the oil itself. The drive to mop up is more driven by the politicians’ need to be seen to do something than what is actually best for the environment.

How much of a need is there for us to be seen to be doing something to better ourselves? We obsess over how we should do things to fix what we see as broken. We notice a recurring pattern in our lives and then want to change it. We become so obsessed with not repeating the pattern that we miss the very experiences in the pattern. We chose the pattern in the first place. If we look at the psychology of a child, we experimented with our character traits until we got the reactions we wanted from those around us. In doing so we created auto-reactions that then developed into patterns. Changing those patterns can take time and sometimes they will never completely go away but, by acknowledging that the patterns are your creation, you can see that they are then your choice and you can make the most of it. So what is there to fix? Nothing. So what is there to do when you perceive yourself to be back in the same position having repeated a pattern? Nothing. Each experience, if experienced consciously, moves you forward and so there is nothing to do different. The next experience, albeit part of a pattern, will be different if you truly experienced it and take from it whatever you choose.

Contrary to popular belief, life is not about learning lessons. Because you have choice, you may choose not to “get” anything. You choose to learn whatever you want from each situation. You choose to learn from an interaction with someone or not, and the extent of the learning is also your choice. You choose everything. So you can choose to learn nothing, “get” nothing, and do nothing. Or you could choose to experience everything that life has to offer by just letting it happen. Be you. Be free. Do nothing.

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