2 years, 9 months ago
about Qigong
I wise man once said, "we give up leisure to have leisure." What is your take on this sentiment?
In your explanation, can you go beyond the dualistic concept illustrated by this quote?
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M$1 Answer
It's probably true everywhere, but seems like it's more true in America: We work like dogs ("give up leisure") in order to save money to buy boats and go on vacations ("to have leisure"). Two examples:
First, in olden days, while it was certainly true that people worked like dogs, morning to night, it's also true that in agrarian societies people have more down time. And it's even more true in traditional "hunter gatherer" societies (however that's being defined today), where everyone has a lot of downtime (i.e., leisure). Granted, these people (traditional farmers and hunter-gatherer types) are also, literally, dirt poor and often on the brink of poverty, but it must be admitted that they had a lot of leisure.
Second, take the Germans and the French. I have no idea what the real numbers are, but both cultures take a month off of work every year. Everyone does. Heck, even in China and Japan, EVERYONE gets a week and a half off. In comparison, in the US, we get 10 official Federal holidays, and most of us don't get all of those days off and instead see 6 (or less) holiday days a year. Heck, we don't even get May 1st off, which is when the entire WORLD celebrates a victory of AMERICAN labor rights. Further, Americans are more likely to work overtime, which makes American workers the most productive on the planet. Don't feel sorry for us though, because here's the trade off: We own more cars, boats, big screen TVs and game systems per capita than anyone else in the world.
In other words, we "we give up leisure to have leisure."
First, in olden days, while it was certainly true that people worked like dogs, morning to night, it's also true that in agrarian societies people have more down time. And it's even more true in traditional "hunter gatherer" societies (however that's being defined today), where everyone has a lot of downtime (i.e., leisure). Granted, these people (traditional farmers and hunter-gatherer types) are also, literally, dirt poor and often on the brink of poverty, but it must be admitted that they had a lot of leisure.
Second, take the Germans and the French. I have no idea what the real numbers are, but both cultures take a month off of work every year. Everyone does. Heck, even in China and Japan, EVERYONE gets a week and a half off. In comparison, in the US, we get 10 official Federal holidays, and most of us don't get all of those days off and instead see 6 (or less) holiday days a year. Heck, we don't even get May 1st off, which is when the entire WORLD celebrates a victory of AMERICAN labor rights. Further, Americans are more likely to work overtime, which makes American workers the most productive on the planet. Don't feel sorry for us though, because here's the trade off: We own more cars, boats, big screen TVs and game systems per capita than anyone else in the world.
In other words, we "we give up leisure to have leisure."
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M$
Hehe, so true. But I like both kinds of vacations. I love going hardcore backcountry for a week (which can be hard, but if you prepare properly it shouldn't be). On the other hand, my favorite vacation every involved exotic Thailand, where I woke up, had a coffee and read, went swimming, had lunch and a beer, read, went swimming, had dinner and a beer, read, had another beer, read, went to bed, repeat. After 3 days of this, my colleagues from work took off to go boating and scuba diving and parasailing and whatever because I was far too boring...
Ever go on a vacation and wish you had a few days to recover from that vacation?
Leisure to me is literally having to do nothing. If I have to pack, drive, fly, set up camp, cook, clean and make my way back home again - that's not a lot of time for leisure!