Is it work?
July 31st 2007 12:59
Work at the moment consists of walking, walking and possibly more walking. And reading. And blogging. And viewing historic homes. And getting up later than I’m used to. And going to bed later. And visiting relations I haven’t seen for years - or never, in some cases.
This is work? Well, yes, if you regard a sabbatical as part of work then this is work. Or, if you regard a career break as part of work, then this is work.
People who only regard work as the stuff done for forty hours a week (roughly) don’t realise that the weekend is part of the work. Without the weekend, work wouldn’t happen - eventually. We have to have breaks for work to work.
Or alternatively, to do nothing is almost an impossibility for the human being (especially if they’ve got a wife who can’t do ‘nothing’). I can get into the day slowly, but I can’t do nothing during a day. Busy doing nothing is something that people just don’t do, even the dullest. Even those people whose day consists of moving from breakfast to morning tea to lunch to afternoon tea to dinner move to a purpose. It may not seem like much of a purpose, but it is one.
Am I giving work too wide a definition? Possibly, according to some people’s lights. Or perhaps I’m a person who finds sitting doing nothing (apart from observing what’s in front of me, or just thinking) too tension-making for words.
Interestingly enough, after I’d written the above last night, I came across an extract by Swedenborg of all people (he’s someone I’ve never considered reading) in which he talks about work in heaven.
“Certain spirits [that is, people] had conceived the idea in the world that heavenly happiness consists in leading an idle life and in being waited on by others; but they were told that happiness never consists in mere inaction, because in that case every one would wish to sacrifice the happiness of
others to his own; thus each would desire what no one could obtain. Such a life would not be active but idle, and would stultify all the powers of life, and every one ought to know that without activity there can be no happiness, and that rest is only for the sake of recreation [that is, re-creation] in order that a man may return with fresh vigour to the activity of his life.
Those who had the idea that heavenly joy consists in leading a life of indolence and idly inhaling eternal joy, were allowed some experience of such a life, in order to make them ashamed; and they found that it was extremely sad, and that, all joy being destroyed, they would in a short time feel nothing for it but disgust and loathing.”
As far as I know this comes from Heaven and Hell, in a translation by F Bayley, published by Everyman. But I don’t know where in the book it comes.
This is work? Well, yes, if you regard a sabbatical as part of work then this is work. Or, if you regard a career break as part of work, then this is work.
People who only regard work as the stuff done for forty hours a week (roughly) don’t realise that the weekend is part of the work. Without the weekend, work wouldn’t happen - eventually. We have to have breaks for work to work.
Or alternatively, to do nothing is almost an impossibility for the human being (especially if they’ve got a wife who can’t do ‘nothing’). I can get into the day slowly, but I can’t do nothing during a day. Busy doing nothing is something that people just don’t do, even the dullest. Even those people whose day consists of moving from breakfast to morning tea to lunch to afternoon tea to dinner move to a purpose. It may not seem like much of a purpose, but it is one.
Am I giving work too wide a definition? Possibly, according to some people’s lights. Or perhaps I’m a person who finds sitting doing nothing (apart from observing what’s in front of me, or just thinking) too tension-making for words.
Interestingly enough, after I’d written the above last night, I came across an extract by Swedenborg of all people (he’s someone I’ve never considered reading) in which he talks about work in heaven.
“Certain spirits [that is, people] had conceived the idea in the world that heavenly happiness consists in leading an idle life and in being waited on by others; but they were told that happiness never consists in mere inaction, because in that case every one would wish to sacrifice the happiness of
Those who had the idea that heavenly joy consists in leading a life of indolence and idly inhaling eternal joy, were allowed some experience of such a life, in order to make them ashamed; and they found that it was extremely sad, and that, all joy being destroyed, they would in a short time feel nothing for it but disgust and loathing.”
As far as I know this comes from Heaven and Hell, in a translation by F Bayley, published by Everyman. But I don’t know where in the book it comes.
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