Living an aligned life
Working pretty hard just to stay with Joe Nation for a few minutes on his ‘Shakey Isles’ race against Rufus!
I subscribe to James Clear’s ‘3-2-1 Thursday’ blog that comprises 3 ideas, 2 quotes and one question.
I like 3-2-1- Thursday a lot. It makes me think. I like how he presents short yet powerful prompts to living a good life.
In this week’s blog, he posted a quote from philosopher Lawrence Pearsall Jacks on living an aligned life:
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play; labor and leisure; mind and body; education and recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."
Source: Education Through Recreation (1932)
This resonates on so many levels for me. Perhaps most powerfully, it speaks to the need to enjoy my work. If ‘work’ doesn’t have moments of fun, exploration, risk-taking and reward it feels unworthy of my time and best avoided.
On digging a bit deeper about his work, I discovered another gem:
The Problem of Leisure: Written during an era of expanding industrial automation, Jacks warns that if society does not educate people on how to use their free time creatively, they will fall prey to passive, "ready-made" commercialised entertainment and unhealthy pursuits.
This really struck a chord with me. I’ve always felt the pull to be active (in a physical sense), and often feel out of sorts when watching TV or a movie, and I think that is because in very simple terms, I’m not moving. And yet, I do like reading…
Thinking even deeper, the most rewarding leisure pursuits for me tend to involve moving and learning, or at least, decision making. Mountain biking, tramping, trail running and flying are some of my favourite leisure activities and they all involve thinking as well as doing.
What do you think of Jacks’ statement about leisure and what serves you best and why?