As a second semester senior in college, I knew that my last Spring Break was
going to be a much-needed vacation from the hustle and bustle of school work,
papers, reading, work, and late nights without a lot of sleep.
I was right. It was break from the craziness. But more
importantly, it was full of quality leisure and rest. It was fun.
During my Spring Break, I traveled back home to Michigan to be
with my family and fiancé. I made a homemade meal and a massive batch of
apple crisp. I watched old musicals and drank cheap red wine. I sat with my
siblings and laughed till I cried recalling funny childhood memories. I shopped
around at thrift stores for earrings to wear at my wedding. I took my little
sisters out for popcorn and hot chocolate at a random gas station. I attended
stations of the cross at my home parish and brought freshly baked cornbread to
the potluck afterwards. I hopped in my car for late night trips to the chapel.
Sometimes I forget how fun life can be. This got me thinking.
Yes, I do have plenty of commitments that eat up my time. Yes, I have school
work and jobs and responsibilities. But I cannot forget to live in the present
and enjoy life. I need to remember this, especially as I graduate and look
toward the rest of my adult life.
What kind of self-culture do I want to cultivate? One that screams
nothing but work?
Yes, there will be jobs, late nights, mortgage payments, and
stress. Even now, I constantly feel guilty about hanging out with friends; I
could be doing something productive, or I could be praying. Over Spring Break,
I came to ask myself: what constitutes the quality of my life? How do I live in
the present? Enjoy every moment?
I must be ready to seek out the good every day. I must keep in
mind my eternal end, my final destination. I must do my work with prudence and
diligence, but not feel bad about enjoying life. I must have leisure to do the
things I love. Josef Pieper writes: “leisure is an attitude of the mind and a
condition of the soul that fosters a capacity to perceive the reality of the
world. Religion can only be born in leisure; a time that allows for
contemplation of the nature of God. Leisure has been, and always will be, the
first foundation of any culture.”
Human persons cannot have toil without hope, work without rest. But
is our rest nothing more than a preparation for the next day’s work? Our rest
cannot be merely relaxation or mindless amusement. Having leisure means having
quality time for contemplation, celebration, and fun.
I must stop thinking in terms of productivity and start living in the present, where true leisure happens. Living in the present does not mean
procrastinating. It does not mean mentally pushing off responsibilities or
being frivolous. It means encountering people, loving, and enjoying the zest of
life. It means being transformed by the experiences we live, the people we
meet, the conversations we have.
When we live in the present, we are grateful. We are thankful in
the moment because we can recognize the beauty and dignity around us. The
present is where reality happens. We exist. We love. We delight.
So yes, go ahead and plan your life, your work, and your future.
Plan so you can thoroughly enjoy and savor the good things of life.
Let us cultivate and renew our work-obsessed culture so that we
truly may appreciate the beauty and goodness around us, even in an hour or two
of fun and relaxation. Let us have leisure so that “man, ‘who is born to work’, may truly be transported out of the weariness of daily labor into an unending holiday, carried out of the straightness of the workaday world into the heart of the universe.”
For it is only in leisure, in contemplation, and in reflection
that a culture can come to understand the presence of God, and respond in true
joy and worship to the Ultimate Cause of all good things.
Theresa Corgan
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Theresa Corgan
I am a world-ranked Irish dancer, aspiring painter and drawer, truth seeker and coffee drinker. I study Humanities and Catholic Culture and Philosophy. I would love to teach high school students and challenge them to become philosophers in their own right. I also want an Irish dance studio, a painting studio and a bunch of children named after my favorite saints.
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