The Art of Idling
Saw this quote from Tom Hodgkinson, the author of How to Be Idle:
“Banish the guilt. We are all told that we should be terribly busy, so we can’t laze around without that nagging feeling that we need to be getting stuff done. I rejected my guilt upon learning that Europeans in the Middle Ages felt no shame for lolling about. Their favorite philosopher, Aristotle, had praised the contemplative life, and the monks spent a lot of time just praying and chanting. Guilt for doing nothing is artificially imposed on us by a Calvinistic and Puritanical culture that wants us to work hard. When you understand that it hasn’t always been this way, it becomes easier to shake it off.”
I can definitely relate to “that nagging feeling,” as well as a “contemplative” way of living. But I’m not sure I would blame the guilt on the Calvinists and Puritans. And I want to be known as a hard working person because I think that’s being a good steward of my time and abilities, but finding time to rest and feel like it is just as important as working hard is a difficult thing for me. What about you?
It’s definitely hard for me to relax when I look around the house & see everything that needs to be done: straightening, picking up toys, making bottles, folding laundry, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping. There’s never enough time to have the clean house I like to have, especially with a baby crawling around on the floor. Then there’s spending quality time with my wonderful hubby. Usually, by the time the kids are in bed I’m so exhausted I don’t feel like doing much. I want to live in the here & now cause I know this time will go by all too quickly. I don’t want to look back & see that I have a spotless house but wonder when my children grew up.