Being Idle
In 1930, John
Maynard Keynes said that technological innovations would soon allow us all to
work just 15 hour weeks. Today, even the French don't work that few hours! The
rest of the West feels pressurized to work longer and harder since otherwise
the jobs will move to Asia. And Asians work long hours since otherwise the jobs
will go to, well, other Asian countries!
But even on a
personal front, most of us cannot stay idle for long. Rainer Maria Rilke's
statement that we “be idle with confidence, with devotion, possibly even with
joy” is practically impossible (for most of us).
And that is the
central theme of Andrew Smart’s book, “Autopilot: The Art and Science of Doing
Nothing”. As Smart says, we have this “contradictory fear of being idle,
together with our preference for sloth”.
But doesn't too much
idleness lead to boredom? Sure, but that boredom can sometimes lead to
self-knowledge, argues Smart:
“What comes into your consciousness when
you are idle can often be reports from the depths of your unconscious
self...Through idleness, great ideas buried in your unconsciousness have the
chance to enter your awareness.”
No wonder then
that Shane Parrish says:
“Idleness is a lost art.”
Interesting in some ways, sure.
ReplyDeleteOne point keeps surfacing from the average Western point of view: emptying the mind totally is a matter for debate! In the East, it is actually not given much room for debate. However, addressing it as a meditation practice is taken up only by a few, both in the East and the West. Probably it is the effect of meditation on me that made me realize that that those who debate indeed indirectly acknowledge it is worth analysing instead of ignoring.