In Praise of Idleness

 My name is Dave, and I'm a workaholic -- whether I'm doing something that I think should be done or something I enjoy.  I think workaholism is in one's attitude toward an activity as much as whether the activity is imposed or chosen.  At least many activities can be approached with an attitude of enjoyment that is genuine, not made up, and it makes a big difference.  Learning to do what I want more often, learning to relax, learning to smell the roses has been a long uneven process for me.  A favorite saying of mine is "If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live, said Lin Yu-t'ang -- I'm still learning to spend more time living uselessly.  I definitely believe that originality and creativity spring forth when people hang loose, relax, enjoy what they are doing.  There is a story that happiness (and peace, and wisdom, and an answer) is like a butterfly,and the more we chase it the more it eludes us, and when we quit trying and relax, the butterfly comes and gently sits on our shoulder.  Most of us work too much, maybe because we are afraid to let go and be.  Doing can definitely be a way to avoid being (and happiness, originality, peace), and being is becoming.

I hear you, on this one!  
My father never shied away from delegating work.  He would say, "We have a family of nine.  If two (mom and dad) were expected to carry the work load for the entire team (of nine).  The two would quickly tire out!  Nine people sharing the work load for nine people allows nine people to have idle time when their work is done."

I do not have the gift of "delegation".  I end up pulling a load no one else cares to go before.  In this, Grace at work.

Idling now . . . So Thankful!