Idleness, in the old sense of the word, so far from being synonymous with leisure, it is better to describe it as the absence of leisure. Leisure is only possible when a person is one with themselves.
Leisure it must be understood, is a mental and spiritual attitude, not simply the result of external factors, like spare time, a holiday, week-end or a vacation.
Work in its ideal, implies activity, leisure implies in the first place an attitude of non-activity, of inward calm, of silence; it means not being "busy", but letting things happen.
Leisure is a form of silence, of that silence which is the prerequisite of the apprehension of reality: only the silent hear and those who do not remain silence, do not hear.
There is a certain happiness in leisure that comes from the recognition of the mysteries of the universe and the realisation of how incapable we are of understanding it, flowing from this comes a deep confidence, so that we are content to let things take their course.
When we let our mind rest and contemplate a rose in bud, or a child at play, or a divine mystery, we are rested and in a state of dreamless sleep. It is in these times that great and imperishable intuitions visit us in our moments of leisure. It is in these silent and receptive moments that the soul of man is sometimes visited by an awareness of what holds the world together.
In these moment one can never be said to be idle.
Adapted from the book, Leisure the basis of Culture by Josef Pieper
Leisure it must be understood, is a mental and spiritual attitude, not simply the result of external factors, like spare time, a holiday, week-end or a vacation.
Work in its ideal, implies activity, leisure implies in the first place an attitude of non-activity, of inward calm, of silence; it means not being "busy", but letting things happen.
Leisure is a form of silence, of that silence which is the prerequisite of the apprehension of reality: only the silent hear and those who do not remain silence, do not hear.
There is a certain happiness in leisure that comes from the recognition of the mysteries of the universe and the realisation of how incapable we are of understanding it, flowing from this comes a deep confidence, so that we are content to let things take their course.
When we let our mind rest and contemplate a rose in bud, or a child at play, or a divine mystery, we are rested and in a state of dreamless sleep. It is in these times that great and imperishable intuitions visit us in our moments of leisure. It is in these silent and receptive moments that the soul of man is sometimes visited by an awareness of what holds the world together.
In these moment one can never be said to be idle.
Adapted from the book, Leisure the basis of Culture by Josef Pieper
