Leisure-More valuable than work
Many surveys suggest that lawyers suffer
from depression, drug abuse and alcoholism at a higher rate than the general
public. We could guess at the reasons, but it likely comes down to being
overworked. Abraham Lincoln said that "time is the lawyer's stock in
trade." Therein lies the issue. How can lawyers both sell their valuable
time, but also keep enough of it to enjoy life? Let's listen to Marcus as he
guides the discussion about Aristotle's view of ‘leisure.’
"Recreation is not a secondary concern for a democracy. It
is a primary concern, for the kind of recreation a people make for themselves
determines the kind of people they become and the kind of society they
build."-Harry Allen Overstreet, American philosopher
Audrey: "Where is Elizabeth? Isn't she going to join our
confab today?"
Maureen: "I don't know, but we need to get started. I have
to get back to work soon."
Marcus: "Elizabeth won’t be joining us today, she's too
busy."
Jacob: "We are all too busy Marcus. All of us but you. You
seem to have endless hours for doing what you want to do, versus what you have
to do. Perhaps that's the benefit of getting older."
Audrey: "I think Jacob's right Marcus. The only reason I
admire you is because you seem to be free to do what you want, and I'm not. Of
course, I also admire your wisdom."
Marcus: "When I was a young lawyer, I was also too busy. I
remember going for more than a year without reading any book outside of the
law. It was only when my mentor admonished me to read, that I got back to enjoying some of the things that I did
before I began practicing law. I began by reading what some of my favorite
philosophers had to say about the importance of leisure, beginning with
Aristotle, then moving on to Bertrand Russell.”
Maureen: "Did Aristotle consider leisure one of the
virtues?"
Marcus: "No, but he did consider it one of the highest
ideals for human activity and happiness. While Aristotle recognized the
necessity of working to sustain oneself, and one's family, he also considered
work the means to further the leisure activity that helps us to develop our
full potential and thus our happiness. In other words work is not an end in
itself, but a means to further the time we have for leisure activity. Our word
leisure comes from the Latin verb ‘licere’ (to be allowed). In other words,
leisure is the time you have to be free from the requirement to work and to
choose how you spend it. Aristotle used the word ‘schole,’ which originally
meant the time you could call your own and gave rise to our word "school."
The ancient Greek philosophers believed that leisure was the basis for
intellectual activity."
Audrey: "Well I sure am looking forward to when that day
arrives. For now, it seems that my days are filled with nothing but work, with
very little time left for recreation or leisure activities.”
Jacob: "I have to agree with you Audrey, even when I do
have free time, it is taken up with doing the other things I need to do. I buy
groceries and do other menial tasks, or passive activities like watching sports
or mindless entertainment.”
Marcus: "Perhaps you are not using your leisure time
wisely. For Aristotle, our leisure time must be used purposefully. For it is in
the activities that we choose to do, and people we choose to spend time with,
that help us to develop our full potential. Your leisure time is wasteful if
you do not use it purposefully. As someone once said, ‘do not be ashamed of
valuing your private life more highly than you do your work life.[1]’"
Maureen: "What type of activities did Aristotle consider to
be most purposeful in using one's leisure time?"
Marcus: "Aristotle believed that literature and theater
could offer us the best use of our leisure time. It not only serves to
entertain us, but educate us. Indeed, for Aristotle a work of art is of high
quality only if it can do both. Otherwise it is not a good expenditure of our
time."
Jacob: "Marcus, were you able to find sufficient leisure
time when you were a young lawyer? If so, how did you go about it?"
Marcus: "First, let me admit that it was not easy, but I
started by prioritizing how to value my leisure time. I began reading every
day, even if it was only for 10 minutes. And I decided to spend less time on
passive activities, and more time recreating
myself.”
Audrey: "What do you mean recreating yourself,
Marcus?"
Marcus: "The word recreation, is derived from ‘re-create.’
So, if you think about your recreation time, as the time you can re-create yourself, you tend to use it
more wisely. I came to realize that while my profession was as a lawyer, I had
many other interests and goals far beyond practicing law. I started to give
those some priority. By doing so, you lay the foundation for building a happy
life, as opposed to just a successful life."
Maureen: "But isn't a happy life and a successful life the
same thing?"
Marcus: "No. I discovered that it was better to measure my
life not by how successful I was, but how useful I was.[2] While being successful is important, it is oriented towards the
self, being useful is orienting activity towards the world you inhabit. That
includes your family, friends and the society in which you live. Re-creating
yourself is merely the art of cultivating good values by spending your leisure
time wisely, which enriches your friends, family and the society in which you
live."
"Good nature is, of all moral qualities, the one that the
world needs most, and good nature is the result of ease and security, not the life of arduous struggle." – Bertrand Russell
There are many reasons why our modern world
places an emphasis on work and making money, but they are not grounded in achieving
Aristotle's greatest good, which is happiness. Our society’s focus on work and
efficiency has spilled over into our daily lives. We no longer value the
‘capacity for lightheartedness and play.[3] Too much of our time is spent on acquiring money for things we
don't need, and that do not enrich our lives. Studies have regularly shown that
once we acquire enough wealth to provide for our necessities and our families,
happiness is does not come from the excess.
In his essay, In Praise of Idleness,
Bertrand Russell writes “the modern man thinks that everything ought to be done
for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake”. He goes on to
write that “the advantages of leisure give ordinary men and women the
opportunity of a happy life, making them more kindly and less persecuting, and
less inclined to view others with suspicion.[4]" Aristotle would agree.
[1]
Diana Athill, An Editor’s Life.
[2]
Attributed to Peter Drucker, the father of modern management theory.
[3]
Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness,
p. 24, Simon and Schuster edition
[4] Id. at 29.
References: Edith Hall, Aristotle’s Way-How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life, Ch 9 (which
inspired this blog post).
Bertrand Russell,
In Praise of Idleness (an essay I’ve returned to for inspiration for over 30 years).
Painting: Leisure Hours, by John Robertson Reid
