Maybe this holds true for everyone at various times in their lives, but lately I have felt increasingly tempted to just sit on my behind and stare blankly into space. To idle, basically.
Whereas I definitely believe in doing your best when you do choose to undertake something, I've never been able to relate to the whole "Protestant Work Ethic" thing. I grew up with parents and an extended family who seemed to be "always in motion," and I found the entire thing both stressful and exhausting.
Along the way, I have been assured that my predisposition towards idling would automatically go away when I encounter whatever I "feel passionate about;" whatever feels like my true calling.
Hey, I have passed sixty now, and that is yet to come my way... and I have long since given up on holding my breath. I'm more inclined to believe what one of my late stepfather's golfing buddies once told me: "As you get older, the idea of simply SITTING and looking at the landscape go by becomes more and more attractive!"
I'm inclined to think that's true.
However, the allure of sitting and staring blankly into space seems to have been with me for most of my life. It was one of the things I always seemed to be getting in trouble for, back in grade school. I was never the restless kid who bounced around endlessly, breaking windows and setting off fireworks in the locker room... I was the kid who was always falling asleep.
I actually dozed off during a couple of exams, in my teens.
So why am I talking about being an "idler," this morning?
Well, because I've been pondering the seeming conundrum that it seems like idling often flies in the face of self-reliance. Presuming for a moment that a person feels disinclined to live as an entitled twat whose life is underwritten, funded and enabled by others... we don't live in a world that takes too kindly to idlers.
Some years back, I remember having some interesting conversations with a Danish former professor of philosophy who had taken up the lifestyle of a sort of post-humanist hermit and professional idler. He lived in an abandoned forester's cottage at the edge of a larger Danish forest and lived off whatever he could find to eat, or what people brought him. The forestry department allowed him to live there for free, in exchange for keeping the place vermin free and plugging any holes in the roof and fences and so on. Not entirely idle...
Which brings the question of whether he really was as "independent" as he claimed? He rode public transit (which had to be paid for) to use the computers at a library some 8 miles away (a government provided service) to maintain and update his blogs and web sites... on which he did accept "donations" via PayPal because he couldn't escape the fact that we live in a system that runs on money.
In some strange way, he seemed dependent on the very system he was actively rejecting, in order to be able to live a life of "Rejecting The System."
Alas, he passed away from declining health one winter, in his late 50's... but we did have some really good dialogue about "Human DO-ings" vs. "Human BE-ings."
What I find interesting — and perhaps a little ironic — is that we now find ourselves living in this world that's becoming more and more automated, and in time it seems likely that more and more people will simply not be needed to "toil;" thus entering a state of more or less imposed idling.
We aren't going to need retail clerks, bank tellers, diagnosticians, truck drivers, cab drivers, warehouse workers, bookkeepers, receptionists, construction workers, legal assistants, insurance analysts... and there'll likely not be an "Oh, you can just find something else!" option for them.
What that future might look like remains to be seen... maybe people will become "dabblers," much like myself, in my current configuration: Write an article here, do something else there, sell this, make that, grow some food... and hope it's enough to keep starvation at bay and have shelter.
Regardless, it seems to be that "idling" will become much more common...
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
How about YOU? Are you an idler, or a "busy bee?" Does the idea of just sitting still and staring at the landscape sound appealing? Do you think the future of "work" for humanity will include a lot more idle time, thanks to technology and AI? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20201007 11:43 PDT
0121/1348
I think being a dabbler must be the best way. The middle road. That way you are not burned out on all that hyper-focused action, but not wasting precious time in being idle and not using those unique talents that make you who you are. Dabbling seems to me to be a recipe for happiness.
That picture of the little pink flowers in the cluster was viewed from my peripheral vision while reading the words about the professor passing away, and those little flowers looked like skulls. Funny how the mind works.
Dabbling has pretty much always been my gig... I used to refer to myself as an "opportunist" because I just tend to seize whatever comes along; if I can get some benefit, great... or I just move along. I am just not motivated by working.
Funny how the mind works, indeed. I see some of the most interesting things out of my peripheral...
This might help clear thing up - and if it doesn't, you've an excuse for doing nothing or 6 minutes! !
https://peakd.com/hive-122683/@lucylin/ivubtnyg
Ah, very good, thank you. Variations on laziness. My life as a Creative Slacker.
....lazy capitalism is the future!!
...now we just need to sort the ' beating out the greediness within people'part, (in the education system, maybe?)
...All fixed!
Yeah well... the maleducation system could use a major overhaul. Starting with teaching kinds (and everyone) such things as critical thinking.
yup CT, philosophy, math and basic science. That's it - hey presto - we have a functioning education system!
I enjoyed reading this. It made me think about me.
I am not one that loves to be on the go all the time, that makes me crazy ! I like lots of down time and that is how I function best.
I do work a full time job and I don't love it, but it does pay the bills for now and gives me a little play money. My life would be more perfect if I was doing a job I really loved and enjoyed participating in though.
Although I do spend a good bit of idle time, it is not idle inside my head. Something going on all the time in there, wondering, creating..... I use to act on more of the things I thought up than I do now.
Some would consider it wasting time I am sure, but I always think, if I am enjoying it, how can it be wasted??? ha ha