I would try to send myself to St. John's College in Santa Fe where my son went instead of rushing through UT. I would tell myself to go to Thurgood Marshall Law School where my daughter goes, instead of UT Law.
I would try to keep myself from running for any office (I ran twice) and not get involved in anyone else's campaign. I would tell myself to avoid politics.
There are also a number of clients and lawsuits I would advise against. Life is too short.
Of course, I probably would not have listened. All of that ambition came from somewhere and I lacked the wisdom to let it go. Not that it has come to much. That is the trick, of course. Dr. Faustus and many of us sell to this devil and then what we get in return is a bag of tricks.
Why has my life been so plagued with work ethic? From where springs this foolish notion that work and achievement should have value?
Does anyone talk about Max Weber any more? Once we could safely blame the work ethic on Protestantism. Also, we talked about cold weather, warm weather differences. The Puritans who went to the Caribbean were said to be soon happily munching tropical fruits in leisure while their New England cousins worked hard to prepare for the winter. We talked about the ant and the grasshopper. Why in the world did I ever want to be an ant? Or for that matter someone who lived where there are winters? Or even a Protestant?
Now there is a modern proponent of Idleness. Tom Hodgkinson has a magazine, blog and book. The blog is called The Idler. http://idler.co.uk/
My I especially recommend the quotes he has posted in the left hand corner of each page.
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12 comments:
God, I love it when arguments come 'round full circle: last week, nature vs. nurture; then naps; and finally sloth and ennui -- your Grandma was right, your Grandpa was lazy, and you got it from him! It's OK for you and Dan to discuss naps, but if you start comparing the lamentable condition of your bowels, I'll have to start looking for younger friends. bobd
Yeah, well, have I mentioned obesity, also?
It is the fullness which gives life meaning. I think most people are afraid of it, so it seems odd to most
Bobby WC
''Life's tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.''
~ John Wayne
When you're ready, I've got Tom Lutz's Doing Nothing: A history of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America, a discursive look at some very busy folks protesting the necessity to work and the need to derive identity from what one does since the beginning of the industrial revolution. At 300-plus pages, you can lounge over it for quite a while. I did.
Mr. Ed Sapleton,
Your friends that link to your site are cowards.
They dish it out, but can't take it.
So much for our esteemed barristers on behalf of human rights. My favorite party, considering we are compensated according to the opposition(s) fees.
Damn, I wanna be idle, can I? What will it take. I wonder...dare I wonder should I offend my neighbors. Should I be a bad democrat? Should I be a greedy Christian?
Abortion...no problem, capital punishment...by no means, war...
jubilee..never...Dan Boyd will never debate outside his payroll...looser
last two sincerely,
ML...with utmost respect
And so goes the drivel of the day, slopping the daily hayseed to the masses the boyd-song lallygags to all that will listen. Unfortunate lot they may be. How I hope to cling unto an entitlement aimed in my direction.
Oh how happy I may be. possibly many years of retribution and self indignation will sooth the guilt of "i'm a sucessfull white man and my guilt is preventing me from voting my -------fill in the blanks.
Please stop blogging and work in a hospice or something.
Few people care.
Your Attempts are in vain and your words despise.
I have plenty of woulda-shoulda-couldas, but no regrets. Life is good.
as it should be MZ, i'm just say'n that all falls in the place that he enlight'd...sa' yz it'le be.
BOYD N'BOYZ HAVE no idea what ..........forget it....logged off again....
Dear Ed,
What a wonderful essay. I just stumbled onto your blog by accident, and have been warmed by your words on idleness. Thank you.
I live on the west coast, and California is both an easy and difficult place to be idle in. It is difficult because it is expensive. It is easy because, sitting here on my deck watching the waves gather their post-sunset momentum, I realize that I could enjoy the waves just as well from a shack on the beach. Maybe better.
Your essay reminds me to have courage. We put the unimportant things first. Houses, bank accounts, cars, accomplishments, reputations. The things that matter most will still be there when all of these things are gone. Love, grace, compassion, understanding, joy. I know this, yet I still struggle with ambition.
Reading some of your other posts, it appears that you are Christian. I am either Christian or Buddhist, or both. To me the category does not matter so much because, on the important things, I think both religions line up. Your advice to your younger self is advice I am endeavoring to follow now. When I am ambitious, it is because I do not trust God. When I trust him, and surrender, my ambition is to love more. That is all. With luck , grace and love, that is the only kind of ambition I will have in the future.
But, it is nice to have encouragement in this, from people such as yourself. Your words remind me of a quote I heard once from Emmet Fox. “If you could only love enough, you could be the most powerful person in the world.” This is the type of power you appear to have. It is the only type of power I want. Please write more so that we may have more of this type of ambition/power in the world.
Namaste,
FR
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