December 2024
I ran into a neighbor and fellow dad at the YMCA’s gym on a Monday morning. We both had had weekends packed with kids’ activities and social gatherings. We made eye contact, and I said to him, “long weekend, right? Glad to see you and I can get some leisure time.”
With his headphones on, he nodded in silent agreement, adding a smile that revealed his shared relief to recover from the weekend.
Later in the week, I read an article that challenged whether I used the word ‘leisure’ appropriately. The writer, Sr. Zelie Maria Louis, wrote:
“Far from being a mere vacation or break from physical work, leisure is a condition of the soul, a contemplative beholding of life that allows us to take in the world as a whole.
In leisure, we step back from practical work and simply do something for its own sake – not to measure ourselves or perform, and not even to rest or be refreshed.
In leisure, we are seeking and receiving truth, goodness, and beauty for themselves, and the search and finding leaves us rejuvenated and more whole.”
Wow. When I try to have leisure, do I:
- “Take in the world as a whole” or am I distracted?
- Try to perform or accomplish something?
- Or seek and receive truth, goodness, and beauty for themselves?
What does leisure look like for you? How will you experience leisure in the coming weeks?
Leisure for me is:
- Being in nature, fully undistracted
- Sitting in the front row for a concert
- Reading a good book