The Lost Art of Leisure

We modern serfs have forgotten something: we've forgotten how to live. You don't question the meaning of life when leisure is the heart of life rather than work. But with the rise of modern urban life, the intrinsic mode of living has died at the hands of the instrumental mode of life. Our entire lives have been colonised by "utility". We don't relax or rest for their own sake anymore — now we rest so that we are more productive. In this episode we explore these two relationships with time: the leisurely intrinsic mode and the future-oriented instrumental mode.
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📚 Further Reading:
- Burkeman O (2021) _Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals_. First edition. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- De Botton A (2005) _Status Anxiety_. First Vintage International edition. New York: Vintage International.
- Seligman MEP (2013) _Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment_. Atria paperback edition. New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Atria Paperback.

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💬 More from The Living Philosophy

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🎼 Media Used:

1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod
2. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod
3. Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, MOVEMENT II, K. 421 — WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
4. Letting Go Ambient Background music

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⌛ Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
01:27 Modern Times
03:51 The Other Story
10:46 Conclusion

[whalewil]

in dutch we have a word “niksen” it means “doing nothing” but it has not negative connotation and i think that beautiful

[chillsahoy]

I always imagine that this is what is meant by the expression "enjoy the little things". Instead of striving for ever more STUFF, more decadent displays of wealth or status, you can usually find true happiness in the small things that may not be productive, or measurably valuable, but nevertheless provided a level of happiness and comfort. Looking back at some of the most enjoyable things I've done, many of them were just hanging out with friends or family, just talking or playing a board game, and we didn't have smartphones back then so nobody was tempted to record it and gain social capital online.

[zenoofcaledonia]

I work 3 days a week, and other 4 days I enjoy my hobbies. Amazing how much more motivation I have when I'm able to choose how I spend my time more freely

[reygunz]

It's absolutely true that intrinsic activity is valuable and important. I'm not sure that the downgrade of internal quality of life can be all attributed to a loss in leisure. Surely having more leisure would be beneficial, but as someone who enjoys marginally more leisure than your average American, I would say that the problem is a loss of community. I know that this is a personal struggle of mine, but I believe the data shows we are more lonely now than ever, and we have definitely lost the "third" place

[jasonharris]

The realest compliment I can give is you are one of the only channels I pause and rewatch sections of to fully comprehend what you’re saying. You do great work, keep it up!

[ReynaSingh]

Leisure is necessary for allowing the mind to wander. But this wandering can take us to new heights or dangerous lows. There’s a reason we say that idle hands are the devils workshop

[Vak_g]

Thank you very much for this video! It fascinates me how people dreamed of progress as a way to be wealthy and healthy enough so they can enjoy life by spending time with loved ones and having the means to fulfill their inner call. Nowadays, we work all day long without even questioning what we aim to achieve. Our civilization couldn't escape meaning crisis as long as it doesn't provide people a way out of this situation in which work and success seem to be the ultimate value of life

[ximono]

"You don't question the meaning of life when leisure is the heart of life rather than work." 🎯

Questioning the meaning of life is a symptom of a life not fully lived.

[MacSmithVideo]

We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death.

[mimqghz]

Powerful information and food for thought, highly appreciated!

[ilikemaline]

I think it's so sick that I have to go somewhere for 8 hours for 5 days and have a couple of hours a day to myslef. Working on changing that.

[CatsGoMoo]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. A welcomed and enriching breath-of-fresh-air of a video. Thank you!

[bduffy]

Beautifully done James. The struggle is real, finding the strength to move in that directions, leaving what we were told and learnt that was important as a foundation of our society, behind, swimming against the tide to live an inner life of happiness and contentment.

[rupertsmith]

Watched the whole video, thank you for your transparency

Very, very interesting to hear your observations regarding Brand. I have been a subscriber of his for a number of years now and recently have started to seriously question his direction. Would be **incredibly** interested to watch a video on him from your perspective.

In regards to your content - I agree with your reflection. I'll give you a window into my life if it is of any help to you. My very life is very tiring and I'll often click on videos such as yours to listen to as a backdrop. I find your voice very calming and easy to listen to. Unfortunately I don't have the time to read books on philosophy, but I do very much enjoy the ideas and conversations that people have about it. So for me, a lot of the names you will bring up in your videos don't really mean much to me, but I will watch anyway to take some kind of lesson or idea away to help make sense of the world a little more, or to learn something new about myself. I do agree with your assessment that your more recent videos have been a little on the heavy side. So I think you are on the right path with this channel update. But please make of my feedback as you wish.

Very excited to see what your new content will look like. Thank you again for all that you do 🙏

[Harrow_]

Felt great re-listening to some of the arguments from one of my favorite videos of yours “Dionysus a God for our times”. Keep up the good work.

[Mbonic]

sunday is such an amazing day to upload. can end a weekend with a great living philosophy video!

[newcures]

Thanks man. Very well-done 👏 - And although it may be tough facing of reality of our times, it’s also paradoxically inspiring to hear the comparison made and to have some clarified insight as to the cost of the pursuit of the promises of the modern path so well-trodden. 🙏

[silentm]

Our productivity and "progress" is due, in part, to secularism. We want to leave a material legacy because there is no afterlife. Thats as close to meaning as we can get in a material world. Its our bid for immortality. This leaves a hole where meaning used to be. Meaning that was derived When we all followed a religion, and had that structure, rules to live by, and meaning. Now everyone is latching onto this or that idea, trying to replace religion, and destroying themselves and others in the process. People need metaphysical beliefs. People need a structure to live their lives within. In addition, religion often provides discipline, and it is an amazing time to be alive if you're disciplined.

Also, societies function much better with a shared structure for their lives. Now we have people who believe in liberalism, or conservatism, or veganism, or paychology-ism, or any number of ideologies that have taken hold. This is making our culture schizophrenic.

Segal’s Law:
“A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with 2 watches is never sure.”

Ancient societies followed a single narrative. Modern societies are cacophonies of competing narratives. Without trust, more data doesn’t make us more informed but more confused. -From Gurwinder Bhogal. Hes brilliant.

And what sounds different, but is in fact the same problem, is the utter lack of community. Because religion is community. We are hard wired to work within groups toward common goals. This act lights up the same parts of our brain that cocaine does.

Whats the answer? If you want to help yourself, create community, and create meaning, and dont exploit that power. Real life community. In person. Not a Discord. The internet is not a cure for isolation.

Like it or not, we need each other.

[MadameDeSquiggles]

Wow, this video is eye opening. Really some food for thought.

[abesapien]

"Time is our tyrant, " said Aldous Huxley. He attributed our modern restless state to train schedules.