nprfreshair:

‘Art Of The Wasted Day’ Makes A Case For Letting The Mind Wander

Book critic Maureen Corringan says:

Patricia Hampl, you had me at your title: The Art of the Wasted Day.

Imagine a book that celebrates daydreaming, that sees it not as a moral failing, but as an activity to be valued as an end in itself. To be clear, this is not a self-help book; nor is Hampl talking about meditation, yogic breathing or mindfulness — those worthy New Age practices that, well, have to be practiced.

Instead, Hampl’s intrigued by the kind of instinctual, floaty, aimless daydreaming that many of us, if we were lucky, indulged in for hours and hours as children. As adults, of course, we feel like we need to have something to show for our time: achievements, chores, to-do list items crossed off.