How to Spend Your Day?

"If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen..."

-- Henry David Thoreau

Condos all along the shores of Walden Pond? Would that really be "progress?" It seems that we as a culture have a strong preference for doing over being. It's as if the entire society is yelling "Don't just sit there, do something!" at Thoreau, and anyone else who has the chutzpah to simply enjoy life, and nature, as it is. Words like "progress," "efficiency" and "productivity" have become part of our sacred lexicon. We glorify consuming over appreciating, and we disparage those who have no need or desire to play our Protestant Work Ethic games.

The antidote to all that nonsense is to go the way of Thoreau -- don't just do something, sit there. Much, dare I say most, of what we do has negative consequences that escape our limited powers of observation. Cutting down trees may seem like a good thing, but the unforeseen effects of deforestation are many and far reaching. And the same is true not just for tree cutting, but for nearly every act we undertake.

Then there are the psychological and social aspects of this cultural hyperactivity. We work too damn much! We don't spend enough time with family and friends. We don't take enough time to do the things that we really enjoy and that really nourish us. These are not just my random opinions. Time after time surveys and studies show that most people in industrialized nations feel the same.

Which leads us to one inescapable conclusion -- we need fewer enterprising and industrious citizens and more loafers! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to do my part. Loafer has always been my favorite shoe style, why not make it my favorite lifestyle, as well?

So, today, give yourself permission to loaf. Loaf as much as you can. Walk in the woods, listen to music, drink a little beer or wine, read for the fun of it, hang out and enjoy. Let Donald Trump play the productivity game. Free your inner Thoreau. Time's a wastin'. And that's oh so good.