Busy?
Check out this interesting article! "The Busy Trap" by Tim Kreider
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ReplyDeleteBefore whale oil people simply went to sleep when it got too dark to do anything. Or at least they went to bed. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNow I'm interested as well in how the kitties are doing with Cat's chair lift. And how it works. :-). There's one at a retreat place I've been to many times. The monks installed it because one brother had a heart attack and they didn't want him to have to miss chapel. Until it could be installed, the brothers took turns carrying him up and down. ♥
Bill, you have sticktoitiveness! At the Library we notice that many people bring home several books at a time incase they don't fancy the first book. One really does need to care about at least one main character to get through a book. But as you show there are exceptions.
Before whale oil there were candles. Beeswax was very expensive, but tallow was cheaper. Even so, not everyone could afford it. And an open fireplace, although very inefficient for heating (there is a reason why, in the musical ,1776, Franklin is always introduced as "the inventor of the stove"), gave enough light for conversation and a few simple tasks.
DeleteAlmost all my reading is for book discussion groups. Unless I really, really hate the book (happened once) I feel compelled to finish it so I can discuss it intelligently.
DeleteGood point about the candles, Bill. *I* should have mentioned candles!! LOL!!!
DeleteI find it hard to read by a candle, though, due to the flickering.
Book groups are a solid reason to soldier on. :-)
Listener--to reduce the flicker you can use a candlestick with a reflector behind the flame. The reflector also helps to shield the flame from air currents.
Delete--Alan
I think Kreider is right that for many people (me) busyness is voluntary, although that doesn't seem quite compatible with his later claim that this is "something we collectively force one another to do." But I think he is off target in tying busyness generally to work and ambition. listener is busy because, in addition to her part-time job, she spends quality time with her grandchildren. I am busy because, in addition to my part-time contract, I volunteer for the Disability Pride Parade and science fiction conventions. And stay active on e-mail lists and blogs. All of these things are enjoyable in their own ways -- and have nothing to do with money or ambition.
ReplyDeleteKreider describes how he bugged out from "professional obligations." I don't know what those obligations were. Being who I am, I presume they were obligations to his fellow writers. Giving back is voluntary. It has to be. But the world would be a poorer place if nobody felt an obligation to give back.
I worry sometimes about my grandkiddles' programmed busyness. And like the author remember long sweet chunks of just plain clear time that we managed to fill up in very satisfying ways. Soul expanding, mind expanding, ways. Even without reading, though that was an excellent part of it.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes! We did not have television for 12 years when our children were growing up, and they learned to play, and converse and study instead. We only got a TV when they came to needing to have regular access to visual world events.
DeleteFor those who aren't old enough to remember them, it must be impossible to imagine the impact of Life Magazine and the newsreels at the movie theatre. Even for those of us old enough to remember, it is necessary to pause and think a bit about it. And the impact of the COLOR television coverage of the attack on the marchers at the Earl Pettus bridge--words fail. Thinking back, I am remembering various newsreel segments that stuck in my mind--and the ubiquitous Midatlantic accent of the narrators. Boy oh boy, wouldn't it be neat to learn to speak like that? Heads would turn.
Delete--Alan
OK, there IS a way to learn to speak with a Midatlantic (or Transatlantic) accent: the Skinner method for theatrical speech, embodied in her "Speak With Distinction," for which there is a practice book and CD to boot. Fair prices at alibris.com (thanks again, Susan!). That would be a worthwhile project for driving to work each day, and it occurs to me that it might add to my credibility when testifying, so is a legitimate professional expense. Given the quality of my hearing, I might not gain the full benefit of the CD, but so what? The idea is growing on me...new trick for an old dog, eh?
Delete--Alan