President Garfield is my new hero! If you are wondering if the bar has become so low (which it has), hear me out. I've previously expressed my fervent enthusiasm for Lincoln, Grant, FDR - you know - the usual suspects who make most people's Top 10 presidents. Yes, abolishing slavery, winning the Civil War and seeing through reconstruction, and the New Deal are all the things that made us who we are. But Garfield had one quality that the others lacked. He LOVED leisure and preferred reading to anything else in the world. Lincoln read a lot too but never once did he say I would rather read than be President! I recently re-visited Sarah Vowell's Assasination Vacation and she reminds us that Garfield was kinda like "The Dude" from Big Lebowski. Has anyone ever delivered a commencement speech like the one Garfield gave? According to Vowell, this is what Garfield told young graduates:
It has occurred to me that the thing you have, that all men have enough of, is perhaps the thing you care for the least, and that is your leisure - the leisure you have to think; the leisure you have to be let alone; the leisure you have to throw the plummet into your mind, and sound the depth and dive for things below.
I appreciate his sentiments now more than ever in my life, and not just for me but for my teen too! One of the things my high school-er laments about, is not having enough downtime for herself to do things which are purely for her own pleasure and not because some college wants to see it on her resume. She creates these elaborate maps of fantasy lands that will make Tolkien proud or draws dragons that the Khaleesi would love to ride on or write powerful poems. This is just a way for her to process her rich inner, imaginary life that she always had time for until she entered high school. Diane Tavenner in Prepared emphasizes the need for this leisure (that is disconnected from prepping for college) as an integral part of preparing for life and unfortunately the high-school to college route does not allow for such detours. Don't get me wrong, my child enjoys school in general and does sign up to do a lot of things, not for resume-building but purely because she wants to try a bunch of things. It is a herculean task to organize her schedule, especially if she also wants to get eight hours of sleep every night. Which is why Garfield's advice is so timely and profound.
This is also true for adults. I work in two time zones these days and am busy at home even with a spouse who shares housework and chauffeuring duties. I have also reduced my Netflix time and am not on social media and I do read a lot. Yet, there is a yearning in me that resonates with Garfield's love of reading. It also recalled to my mind one of the last pieces of advice my dad gave me when I was in between jobs and before starting a family - enjoy your downtime. Instead I remember being anxious to find work and get going with my career.
So what can I do - both for myself and as a parent? How do I bring more leisure into our lives without compromising on our professional and personal commitments? All solutions offered today involve multi-tasking (audiobook when driving, conference calls during dinner prep, walking meetings) and leave me feeling busier than ever.
Well for starters I am going to stop trying for perfection in everything. If the house is a little messy one evening, that's OK. I am also trying to do a 5 line journal every night - just a summary of the day. Nothing profound or thought-provoking but before I hit the bed I take stock of the day. I am now doing 10 minute solitary walks, usually I am processing something and not being mindful, but for a few seconds I stop and stare at a bird and try to focus on the here and now. I am also reading books that make me read slow - yes I do read a lot of page turners and thrillers, or history that gets me riled up, but am trying to mix it up with a bit of Thoreau to Robert McFarlane who slow me down. Just some baby steps to incorporate a slower tempo into an otherwise rushed day. Let's see how these experiments work out.
It has occurred to me that the thing you have, that all men have enough of, is perhaps the thing you care for the least, and that is your leisure - the leisure you have to think; the leisure you have to be let alone; the leisure you have to throw the plummet into your mind, and sound the depth and dive for things below.
I appreciate his sentiments now more than ever in my life, and not just for me but for my teen too! One of the things my high school-er laments about, is not having enough downtime for herself to do things which are purely for her own pleasure and not because some college wants to see it on her resume. She creates these elaborate maps of fantasy lands that will make Tolkien proud or draws dragons that the Khaleesi would love to ride on or write powerful poems. This is just a way for her to process her rich inner, imaginary life that she always had time for until she entered high school. Diane Tavenner in Prepared emphasizes the need for this leisure (that is disconnected from prepping for college) as an integral part of preparing for life and unfortunately the high-school to college route does not allow for such detours. Don't get me wrong, my child enjoys school in general and does sign up to do a lot of things, not for resume-building but purely because she wants to try a bunch of things. It is a herculean task to organize her schedule, especially if she also wants to get eight hours of sleep every night. Which is why Garfield's advice is so timely and profound.
This is also true for adults. I work in two time zones these days and am busy at home even with a spouse who shares housework and chauffeuring duties. I have also reduced my Netflix time and am not on social media and I do read a lot. Yet, there is a yearning in me that resonates with Garfield's love of reading. It also recalled to my mind one of the last pieces of advice my dad gave me when I was in between jobs and before starting a family - enjoy your downtime. Instead I remember being anxious to find work and get going with my career.
So what can I do - both for myself and as a parent? How do I bring more leisure into our lives without compromising on our professional and personal commitments? All solutions offered today involve multi-tasking (audiobook when driving, conference calls during dinner prep, walking meetings) and leave me feeling busier than ever.
Well for starters I am going to stop trying for perfection in everything. If the house is a little messy one evening, that's OK. I am also trying to do a 5 line journal every night - just a summary of the day. Nothing profound or thought-provoking but before I hit the bed I take stock of the day. I am now doing 10 minute solitary walks, usually I am processing something and not being mindful, but for a few seconds I stop and stare at a bird and try to focus on the here and now. I am also reading books that make me read slow - yes I do read a lot of page turners and thrillers, or history that gets me riled up, but am trying to mix it up with a bit of Thoreau to Robert McFarlane who slow me down. Just some baby steps to incorporate a slower tempo into an otherwise rushed day. Let's see how these experiments work out.
