Tasks and Leisure

Tasks and Leisure

So, what do you like to do when you aren’t doing what you have to do? There is an old saw that I love, “To have leisure is to live as the gods.”

I like to joke that I will spend my free time lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. I always imagine it with my arms spread wide and a stupid grin on my face, a posture I spent time in as a kid on lovely summer days, cloud gazing.

Ahhhh.

But I digress.

I think about my ancestors, and how their lives were compared to the way I get to live. I think about how hard the women worked to keep their homes, how hard the men worked, and how uncomfy stuff was. I mean, I love central climate control. I love vacuums and other machines that make stuff so fast and easy. They worked their patooties off so that now I can enjoy some free time pretty much every day. Thank you, ancestors!

Why do I take time off? What makes me relax? Why do I enjoy my hobby?

Leisure time is priceless. I was fascinated to learn that our word “school” comes from the ancient Greek word for leisure. Many of us have stuff to do to keep our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, running smoothly. We have to wash stuff, and sweep stuff, and wipe stuff down, and change stuff, and buy stuff and put stuff away. We have to do a lot of that every day. And then we have to acquire and consume food and drink, clean ourselves, dress ourselves, move ourselves around, rest ourselves. Whew!

When we have down time, we have time to make choices that can enhance our lives. We can choose from a wide assortment of activities that will make stuff better, give us joy, and be fun. When we stay on top of our stuff, we don’t need to run away from our feelings, and so we can use our leisure enjoying ourselves rather than distracting ourselves. I like that so much more.

As we get better at using our leisure time, we may discover a hobby or hobbies that we love. Some of us decide that we will make a living from our hobby, and do that. Some of us decide that we love the change of scenery that we get from our hobby. Some of us like to learn stuff in our leisure time. Some of us like to travel, or see shows, or be in shows. Choices abound for wonderful, fun, interesting, challenging, delightful ways to spend our time.

How do I enjoy my free time? Why do I value my leisure? What makes me take down time?

When we have balance between our work and play, we feel good. We feel satisfied and productive in our labors, and satisfied and productive in our off-time. When we let that balance go off-kilter, we may feel like a drudge, or taken advantage of at our work, or we may feel bored or at loose ends in our free time. Being able to pick up on this right away is another advantage of being self-aware. Once we notice it, we can modify what we are doing to that we regain our balance. One of the activities that helps me keep that sense of balance is my meditative time on my porch between the end of my work day and the beginning of my evening activities.

How have I changed from being out of balance to enjoying both my task time and leisure time?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 03122014

What are your favorite leisure activities?

How to Cultivate Leisure

How to Cultivate Leisure

Did you know that the word “school” comes from the ancient Greek word for leisure? The point was that you have time to study if you aren’t scrabbling everyday just to put food on the table, if you have a table.

So now most of us have leisure time, that is, time when we aren’t at work. The question I put to you is this: How do you spend your leisure time?

If you are like a lot of people I know, you have your time off packed so full that there is hardly time to breathe. With your stuff, and your kids’ stuff, there isn’t time to lollygag, or dillydally. It’s the time we get to ask my favorite question, “What do I want to do next?”

What I have found out is that I have to put it on my calendar. I do what I can to have three chunks of lollygagging time a week, two with friends and one alone.

What makes me lollygag?

I have also discovered that building sleek routines into my days gives me more time to be flexible, to be spontaneous, and still get done what I need to get done.

I check the weather report and my todo list, give the cats their snack, prep my work satchel for the next day, and make sure I know where my boots/umbrella/sunglasses etc are for leaving the house.

I lay my clothes out for tomorrow, put on my jammies, and practice my qigong in one fluid motion.

I hang up my coat, put my keys in the bowl, set my cell phone out for recharging all as one thing.

Why do I enjoy my routines?

I don’t do those things without thinking, I do notice what I’m doing, but they are my groove, and since I am not reinventing the wheel every day, I figure I gain about 20 minutes in the morning for 10 minutes in the evening. I like that return. Plus, my mornings stay calmer, so my day starts smoother.

Why am I peaceful?

Sometimes, what we need to do with our leisure time is waste it. Wasting time, as a treat, is a glorious thing. Giving myself an hour to lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling, so to speak, is rare treasure for me.

And like so many treats, more of it doesn’t make us feel better, but can set up a routine that leaves us feeling depleted, guilty, and bad. It’s like procrastinating. And when I can find the beginning of the habit loop, and disrupt it, I take control again over my habits.

What do I want to do next?

How have I changed from filling up my free time to savoring my time off?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 10292013