ER Eddie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2013
- Messages
- 1,788
I'm someone who has been socially programmed from an early age to be productive. I've learned the importance of hard work. When I have free time, I try to spend it wisely -- which in practice usually means developing "to do" lists and carrying them out. The problem is that although I learn a lot and get a lot done, much of the activity is not all that important and seems to be there primarily so that I can avoid not having anything to do. When I have nothing to do, I feel vaguely uneasy.
I don't like this. So I'm going to intentionally try to cultivate a less action-oriented mindset. I thought it might help me (and maybe some other people) if I did this publicly, in the form of a thread, sharing some of my thoughts or inspirations along the way.
Note:I'm not interested in debates. This isn't a thread for arguing whether it's better to be idle or productive, or "what if everyone just sat around doing nothing all the time." This is a thread to cultivate the appreciation of idleness. If you want to tell me how unproductive I'm being, or how you would feel like a failure if you just sat around and did nothing, go away, far away; I've got enough voices in my head telling me that already. That's why the thread.
I'll kick it off with a few quotes I liked. I'll come back periodically and post more.
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"We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much was accomplished and much was begun in us." - Emerson
"The idler is by definition an amateur. His few pastimes are pursued sporadically and at a leisurely pace, as a source of pleasure. His time is spent exactly as he chooses. He feels nauseous at the mere whiff of professionalism, for a simple diversion is transformed into a compulsory and cheerless chore if pursued professionally. Instantly it becomes obligatory and contractual. Even art and literature become dreary and dull if transformed into work. But the idler refuses all work. He will do only that which he finds interesting, pleasurable, or amusing. And as soon as his chosen pastime loses its charm, he will immediately cease to follow this course." - Stephen Robins
"The great-souled man will not compete for the common objects or ambition or go where other people take first place. He will be idle and slow to act." - Aristotle
"The philosophers of antiquity taught contempt for work, that degradation of the free man. The poets sang of idleness, that gift from the gods." - Paul LaFargue
"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin
"Go back to the very beginning. What was Adam, I should like to know, but a loafer? Did he do anything but loaf?" - Whitman
"Christianity should have nothing against loafing. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount preached idleness: 'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin.' Jesus may well have been following the example set by his dad, God. After six days of work, the Creator decided that he would not create anymore; instead, he would rest for all eternity. Nietzsche claimed that God is dead. This is incorrect. God's not dead. He's just loafing." - S. Robins
I don't like this. So I'm going to intentionally try to cultivate a less action-oriented mindset. I thought it might help me (and maybe some other people) if I did this publicly, in the form of a thread, sharing some of my thoughts or inspirations along the way.
Note:I'm not interested in debates. This isn't a thread for arguing whether it's better to be idle or productive, or "what if everyone just sat around doing nothing all the time." This is a thread to cultivate the appreciation of idleness. If you want to tell me how unproductive I'm being, or how you would feel like a failure if you just sat around and did nothing, go away, far away; I've got enough voices in my head telling me that already. That's why the thread.
I'll kick it off with a few quotes I liked. I'll come back periodically and post more.
----------
"We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much was accomplished and much was begun in us." - Emerson
"The idler is by definition an amateur. His few pastimes are pursued sporadically and at a leisurely pace, as a source of pleasure. His time is spent exactly as he chooses. He feels nauseous at the mere whiff of professionalism, for a simple diversion is transformed into a compulsory and cheerless chore if pursued professionally. Instantly it becomes obligatory and contractual. Even art and literature become dreary and dull if transformed into work. But the idler refuses all work. He will do only that which he finds interesting, pleasurable, or amusing. And as soon as his chosen pastime loses its charm, he will immediately cease to follow this course." - Stephen Robins
"The great-souled man will not compete for the common objects or ambition or go where other people take first place. He will be idle and slow to act." - Aristotle
"The philosophers of antiquity taught contempt for work, that degradation of the free man. The poets sang of idleness, that gift from the gods." - Paul LaFargue
"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin
"Go back to the very beginning. What was Adam, I should like to know, but a loafer? Did he do anything but loaf?" - Whitman
"Christianity should have nothing against loafing. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount preached idleness: 'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin.' Jesus may well have been following the example set by his dad, God. After six days of work, the Creator decided that he would not create anymore; instead, he would rest for all eternity. Nietzsche claimed that God is dead. This is incorrect. God's not dead. He's just loafing." - S. Robins
