Tag / leisure

by Janet

Living In Leisure

Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Marthe Troly-Curtin

Greetings everyone! I’m excited to be back for my series Life: From A to Z and I’m moving right along… to the lovely letter “L.”

The “L” word that caught my attention was LEISURE, and I’m so glad that it did. Some of the definitions that I found were…

  • Free time
  • Use of free time for enjoyment
  • Opportunity afforded by free time to do something
  • Time free from work or duties

It was funny to read that last one. When I worked full-time, Monday through Friday (and not remotely), my “time free from work” was actually reserved for “duties.” Mainly grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry. I actually enjoyed doing those chores on my days off, but not because they were fun, relaxing, or entertaining. I enjoyed them because they were “productive.” I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I was finished!

The refrigerator was stocked, a few meals were planned, and there were piles of clean clothes, neatly folded and smelling pretty. In thinking about the word leisure, I realize now that maybe I wasn’t making the most of my “free time” in those days.

What’s funny is that I haven’t done many photo or art projects for a while, and the other day I spent hours on the computer trying to get back into it. By the time I was finished, the sun was going down and I thought to myself, “Man, what a waste of a day!”

But it wasn’t. It was leisure. And I’m probably not alone in thinking that sometimes we feel a bit more “rewarded” when we’ve been productive, and we feel a little more “guilty” when we’ve used our free time to take part in leisure activities instead. That is so wrong!

Anyway, I stumbled on the quote (above) and it was like an AHA moment for me. It sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but it’s so very true. My time was not wasted the other day, because it was time I enjoyed wasting.

About the Image

I met up with some friends over the weekend for a little hike and some photography. It was so cool to be out with like-minded people and it really inspired me to get back into using my camera. The featured image is a shot I took while we were out, and it seemed like the perfect capture for the word leisure.

That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading! I hope you found something entertaining or useful here. I’ll be back soon for the letter “M.”

Sloth
by Janet

A New Angle

If our pain doesn’t destroy us, it might just transform us into truly human beings at last.

– Frederick Buechner

I’m not very good at finishing books. I’d say that I’m halfway through 4 or 5 at the moment; maybe more. One in particular, A Crazy, Holy Grace: The Healing Power of Pain and Memory, by Frederick Buechner, has been on my mind quite a bit this past week.

In the part I’ve been thinking about, Buechner writes about what we do with the hand we’re dealt in life. He shares his ideas about sloth as “not really making use of what happens to you,” and “burying what you might have made something out of.” In other words, do you slip what you’ve been though under the rug, and carry on as if nothing ever happened to you? Or do you take that experience and make something meaningful out of it?

First of all, I always thought that sloth was just sheer laziness; lounging around and enjoying leisure time (kind of like the sloth pictured here).

Sloth
Image by Christina Wendlandt from Pixabay

It was comforting to see sloth the way that Buechner does, especially now that I REALLY have time to lounge around (kind of like that sloth pictured there). And aren’t we all trying to make the most of what we’ve been dealt right now—even if that means accepting the simple fact that we have some extra leisure time right now?

I know this is a strange story, and you probably wonder what the point of it is anyway… but what I’m getting at is that the story made me thankful for WRITERS; People like Buechner that spill it all out on the page and let the rest of us try to make sense of it all.

Novelists, journalists, bloggers, poets (to name a few)… we’re all doing it. Scribbling down our thoughts and sending them out into the world. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable; trying to make a difference; using our experiences to encourage others; sharing the talents we’ve been given; even adding some whimsy and lighthearted humor to help cheer others up. That’s what it’s all about!

So yes… yes indeed. Today I am thankful for writers.

God bless you everyone… Thank you for reading, and Write on!

—Janet

This is the first in my newest series during the social distancing rule here in the States: A Daily Gratitude.