In Defense of Leisure

The first four weeks of my Sabbatical have reminded me of the absolute importance of leisure.

Let me state at the outset that I do not define leisure as laziness or inactivity.  Nor do I envision leisure as merely reclining on a cruise ship, drinking a Long Island Iced Tea and listening to sultry jazz standards (not that there's anything wrong with that).

No.  As originally conceived, leisure is a very profound concept that generally escapes most peoples' sensibilities.  The German philosopher Josef Pieper (taking his cue from ancient and medieval philosophers) offered this erudite definition of leisure:

Leisure is a way of looking at the world, born of an affirming oneness with the origin of all being and an authentically free, gracelike experience of the meaning of reality as a whole.

At the risk of seeming presumptuous, let me try to take that definition down a verbal notch or two:  

To be at leisure is to step beyond the daily grind of life, not to rest passively but to contemplate intentionally the deeper meaning of one's existence and one's place in the world.

Thus, leisure is a state of being that we must choose to enter.  It doesn't just happen when we "stop working."  It requires intentional thinking.  That's why it escapes many people.

In fact, most people exist in either one of these two states of being:

• Functional activity, in which we simply do what needs to be done, accomplish what needs to be accomplished, checking off all the tasks on our list.  In this state, we identify with whatever function we have at the moment.  I'm "at work."  I'm "parenting my child."  I'm "cleaning the house."  I'm "doing something productive."
  
  or...
• Mindless inactivity, which we often mistake for leisure.  In this state, we are often consuming something (media, sports, food, alcohol) to escape from "the real world" of nonstop demands, activity, and busyness.  But to consume is not the same as to receive, and while we may be feeding our bodies or our attention spans, we are not feeding our minds and souls.

Read that last sentence again:  To consume is not the same as to receive, and while we may be feeding our bodies or our attention spans, we are not feeding our minds and souls.

If you want to know why American culture is in jeopardy, I think it is because we are feeding our bodies and our attention spans but starving our minds and souls.  I think it is because many people spend their lives shifting back and forth between functional activity and mindless inactivity.

People need genuine leisure, and the sad part is that our cultural institutions that ought to be promoting and encouraging leisure, aren't.  Whether it's churches, schools, or the arts, quite often they seem to be promoting even more functional activity and mindless inactivity.  They offer few opportunities to step back (not escape) from the "real world" in order to ask deeper questions about what is our purpose, what is the good life, or what ultimate spiritual reality imbues our lives with wonder, majesty and grace.  In other words, they offer us little opportunity truly to be human.

If we cannot rely on our cultural institutions always to provide us with opportunities for leisure, then that means we must create opportunities for ourselves.  Here are just a few that I engage in and recommend:

Soul Friendship.  This is based on an ancient Celtic practice called the anamchara (Gaelic for "soul friend").  Schedule a regular meeting with a trusted friend.  No cell phones, I-pads, Kindles, or laptops allowed.  Don't just talk about what you're doing at work or what mutual hobbies you enjoy.  Talk about who you are.  Explore the deeper values that animate your life.  Ask each other why you do what you're doing.  Encourage one another, but ask deeper questions of each other about your motives and your choices.

Spiritual Disciplines.  The ancient and medieval Christians offer a treasury of disciplines that can be used to create space for leisurely contemplation and, indeed, transformation.  However, I recommend a brand new curriculum entitled Essential Practices of the Faith.  My wife and I are currently journeying through this material.  We love that it is simple without being simplistic; it is profound without requiring a degree in theology; and it requires commitment but not a great deal of time.  One thing it does require is that you study it with others...not on your own!

Contemplate Great Art.  I'm not talking about the "arts" that fill our popular culture and win Oscars, Emmys, or Grammys.  I'm talking about the "Classics."  Read a book with exalted language and heroic characters that embody great values (my favorites are Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and C. S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces).  Listen to classical music that stirs deep emotion (my favorites are Copland's Symphony No. 3 and Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, Suite 2).  Look at great works of art that stylize great subjects (my favorite is Dali's Crucifixion).  Find your own favorites, but remember that great art is more than just entertainment.  It "incarnates" and enables you to experience profound ideas at the physical and emotional level.  That is food for the soul.

How Great Thou ART

Jeff Vanderhoff's remarks in my last post (see below, "No Country for Jeff") have led me to reflect on movies as an art form. As is typical with nerds like me, I ended up pondering an even more philosophical question: What is art? And what is its purpose in our lives?

As Vanderhoff commented in my last post, he would much rather watch a good comedy that gives him a little escape from life, rather than a heavy movie like No Country for Old Men which seems to confuse and frustrate more than clarify and edify.

So what is the purpose of art? Why should we watch movies, listen to music, read books, attend plays? Is it to be entertained? To be instructed? Or to just escape from the "real world" for a while?

In general, I believe there are three views of the purpose of the arts in human existence. I know that we all can come up with many specific reasons for liking specific pieces of art, but what I'm listing are just broad categories about the arts in general.

First, there's the view that art is essentially a "handmaid of religion" - that the purpose of art is almost exclusively for religious expression, worship, and for giving glory and honor to God. In other words, art is justified by its faithfulness in representing religious truth. Simple totem poles, ceremonial dances, and mythical stories in the pre-Christian religions. Gothic cathedrals, passion plays and Gregorian chants of the Middle Ages. Even much of the contemporary Christian music business today. All of those would be examples of this first philosophy of art.

Secondly, there's the view that, fundamentally, the purpose of art is to entertain...that art exists for the sake of the audience. The justification of art is, therefore, its ability to reach people subjectively. In this view, what is being said/portrayed is much less important than how it is being said/portrayed. Most of popular music/literature/art falls into this category, although there are excellent exceptions (U2, The Beatles, etc...). Take pop music for example: most of what is actually communicated is trivial, pedantic, and vulgar, yet it is presented with such fanfare and sensationalism that the audience is simply taken up in the experience of the "show."

Finally, there is the philosophy that art is the concretization of the artist's fundamental views of life: that in the specific media of music, painting, literature, etc..., the artist is communicating a basic understanding of human existence, inviting the audience to enter into that understanding, perceive, and enjoy. In this view, the audience can not sit passively and expect pure entertainment. They must engage the work of art with their mind and heart and, in doing so, attempt to discover the major themes that are actually being communicated.

Take two of my favorite films: Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire and David Fincher's Seven. In my opinion, each film presents a certain view about the nature of humanity. Chariots of Fire presents humans as having all the potential to be heroic, to live with integrity, to maintain their core beliefs even in the face of opposition, and ultimately to achieve great success. Seven, on the other hand, presents human life as being hopelessly depraved, in which even those with the best intentions are doomed to either failure, cynicism, or despair. Both films use their stories, characterizations, and cinematography flawlessly to present these views. Neither film is "entertainment for its own sake;" but each, in my opinion, is brilliant in what it seeks to achieve.

In Genesis we are told that God is a Creator, and that humans are made in His image. Therefore, I believe that it is in the nature of human life to want to create, to express our deepest longings and beliefs, and to share those with others. I thank God for the brilliant artists, past and present, who have added much to my mind, heart, and life.