In Praise of Laziness – Part Two

An article by Drew    No Comments

To read part one, click here.

Laziness has received a bad rap over the years. It’s an insult, a weakness, a failing closely related to sloth which is listed among the seven deadly sins. There are all manner of helpful books, videos and websites on how to beat your laziness, how to mould yourself into a more productive, highly motivated and energetic super being.

But have you ever thought that maybe laziness is there to protect you from stressing out, to help you balance your life?

Here’s another great quote from the champion of idleness Tom Hodgkinson…”[If we were idle] we would become more alive. We would be less stressed out because we would be in control of our own lives. We would free ourselves from the master/slave dialectic and all the other imprisoning dualities that control us.
“Life and work would become the same thing. We would become whole people rather than fractured people.” those who preach the benefits of working harder, are normally the people having a nice time, relaxing and getting rich on the backs of others.”

Wage slavery kills – it kills creativity, it kills joie de vie and sometimes it just kills. The Japanese actually have a word – karoshi – which means death by overwork. How horrible that such a word is needed! We pump ourselves up with coffee and red bull and motivation seminars to make ourselves work harder. Then at night when we’re so wound up we can’t sleep, we pop sleeping pills and listen to relaxation CDs. What unhealthy self-destructive creatures we are!

I sometimes announce (semi facetiously) that I should offer a series of de-motivation seminars for overworked executives. This would be a five day course – very expensive – so they could instantly tell it was important and worthwhile. The first day I turn up very late and set about training the attendees in laziness. We’d suck hot chocolate through our chitchats, play a few relaxation games and have at least one good snooze.

On the second day of the course, if I’d done my work right, everyone would turn up late and by day three any one who turned up at all would immediately fail. Everyone else would take the rest of the week off.

Here’s another random thought. Although you think that you’re lazy you may in fact just be bored and unstimulated. It’s amazing to observe how much effort supposedly lazy people will put into something they really enjoy. If your work is really unsatisfying and de-motivating get another job. Life’s too short to waste on work that lacks purpose and in no way excites you.

Or maybe you’re just tired and your laziness is your body’s wise way of telling that you’re worn out and need a break. Famous French author Jules Renard remarked that “laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.” And how about this from much quoted American Bern Williams…”I like the word “indolence.” It makes my laziness seem classy.”

In fact there are heaps of great quotes praising laziness…

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man – the airplane, the automobile, the computer – says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. ~Mark Kennedy

Efficiency is intelligent laziness. ~David Dunham

A whole bundle of them have been combined into a delightfully subversive video which covers everyone from Isaiah to Bart Simpson and can be found at www.lazyway.net/movie.

I’m not suggesting we give up work. Unfortunately that’s impractical. I’m not suggesting we waste our precious time. What I am arguing is that sometimes being lazy is a good, healthy, necessary use of our time. Yes those dishes need to be done but they can wait a while. Yes a brisk walk would be invigorating but for the moment don’t worry. Relax. Rest. Be lazy. Give your body and brain a chance to slow down and your spirit a chance to catch up.

If you want a bit of Christian justification remember that Jesus sometimes took time out to be by himself. He lived in a time with a much slower pace of life. Like all Jews he strictly observed the Sabbath and took time off for regular religious holidays. We, on the other hand, have filled our “day of rest” with a plethora of activity, often church oriented but still tiring rather then restful.

Laziness – give it try sometime soon – without guilt or excuses. You may find that rather than being a bad thing it rejuvenates you to be more productive, more loving and even more able to hear God’s voice than you ever would be, caught up in our usual constant rush. As saint Shane Claibourne put it “You can’t love in a hurry.”