-Isms: Views on life in rural America

It’s Monday and a wave of guilt washed over me most of the day. Why? How much of this week’s paper is complete?

Answer: Not enough, but I’m not stressing, well, not much. It’s mapped out, just a matter of designing a few pages.

Why the guilt? Yesterday, I did nothing. And by nothing, I mean absolutely nothing.

The Dutch call it “niksen,” which means “to do nothing, to be idle.” Taking a timeout from a regimented schedule, carving time for oneself, isn’t being lazy. (Saying that one more time and louder for those in the back row). It’s about personal well-being, a way to disconnect and, for som...