Doing "Nothing" is harder than it seems...

We had an assignment given a few weeks ago to find a public place and literally attempt to do absolutely nothing for 10 minutes. When most people think of "doing nothing" they don't take into consideration that even THINKING is doing something. So basically this was more of a 10 minute meditation, in which we tried to keep our minds clear of thought for 10 minutes. I performed this assignment in the middle of a mall. I picked this place because I like challenges, and what better of a challenge then to attempt to meditate in a place full of people socializing and moving, various types of different stores and shops, and different aromas filling the air. I stood still in the middle of an upstairs walkway, near the food court, and very close to one of those stands that sell certain products. To start off the meditation, I imagined hearing the constantly changing "buddah-bell" that is rung at the beginning of every sociology class. This helped me keep a clear mind even though people were zooming past me. This was until a sales associate from the stand nearby approached me probably to ask if I needed anything. But before he could ask me anything and fully break my meditation, I motioned my head away from him. This consumed about 1 minute of my assigned time. So in the end, I wasn't completely doing "nothing" for the 10 minutes. But this activity made me realize that no one is every really doing nothing, everything that is living is occurring. Things are constantly changed, very similar to the bell I imagined to help my meditation in the first place. This was a very interesting task and I will never think of the phrase "doing nothing" the same way ever again.