The Lost Art of Leisure

We modern serfs have forgotten something: we've forgotten how to live. You don't question the meaning of life when leisure is the heart of life rather than work. But with the rise of modern urban life, the intrinsic mode of living has died at the hands of the instrumental mode of life. Our entire lives have been colonised by "utility". We don't relax or rest for their own sake anymore - now we rest so that we are more productive. In this episode we explore these two relationships with time: the leisurely intrinsic mode and the future-oriented instrumental mode.
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📚 Further Reading:
- Burkeman O (2021) _Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals_. First edition. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Burnham, B. (2021) _Inside_. Los Angeles, CA: Netflix. Available at: [www.netflix.com/browse?jbv=81....](www.netflix.com/browse?jbv=81...)
- De Botton A (2005) _Status Anxiety_. First Vintage International edition. New York: Vintage International.
- Seligman MEP (2013) _Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment_. Atria paperback edition. New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Atria Paperback.
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🎼 Media Used:
1. Anguish - Kevin MacLeod
2. Dark Times - Kevin MacLeod
3. Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, MOVEMENT II, K. 421 - WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
4. Letting Go Ambient Background music
Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod: / kmmusic
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⌛ Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
01:27 Modern Times
03:51 The Other Story
10:46 Conclusion

[@whalewil3135]

in dutch we have a word “niksen” it means “doing nothing” but it has not negative connotation and i think that beautiful

[@chillsahoy2640]

I always imagine that this is what is meant by the expression "enjoy the little things". Instead of striving for ever more STUFF, more decadent displays of wealth or status, you can usually find true happiness in the small things that may not be productive, or measurably valuable, but nevertheless provided a level of happiness and comfort. Looking back at some of the most enjoyable things I've done, many of them were just hanging out with friends or family, just talking or playing a board game, and we didn't have smartphones back then so nobody was tempted to record it and gain social capital online.

[@PorGaymer]

i blacked out for the rest of the video after hearing pessants working 100 something days a year. I remember hearing somewhere that hunter gatherers also just "worked" about 3 days a week.

[@setsen337]

Im glad people are finally waking up to the fact that we've all been quietly enslaved.

[@jangdi.]

And you do.realize that in their time resources were still a lot compared to nowadays right?

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

People who repeat this are essentially just lying to you. The modern conception that you go to your office or email job, work there for 8 hours, then come home to your house or apartment where there is food in the refrigerator, running water, electricity and everything else and this is your free time is so fundamentally alien to almost the entirety of previous Human Experience that I'm not sure we can comprehend that. Your average medieval peasant had to work every single day, including holidays, just for basic necessities. there may have been some days when they did not have to work for their lord or whatever Merchant Guild they were involved in and so on, but they weren't sitting around watching Netflix or playing board games. From producing or finding your food, to keeping up the household maintenance, to fixing your clothes and other daily use items and so on there was always something that needed to be done. In terms of actual work, and not just professional work, they had considerably more to do than almost anyone alive today.

[@Consciousness_of_Reality]

@@jangdi. Of course, you dont need to rely on feudal lords for your own security since otherwise you are doomed and so they can do anything with "your" resources, you and your family.

[@lorenzomizushal3980]

They also died early and lived a relatively miserable existence.

[@reygunz3059]

It's absolutely true that intrinsic activity is valuable and important. I'm not sure that the downgrade of internal quality of life can be all attributed to a loss in leisure. Surely having more leisure would be beneficial, but as someone who enjoys marginally more leisure than your average American, I would say that the problem is a loss of community. I know that this is a personal struggle of mine, but I believe the data shows we are more lonely now than ever, and we have definitely lost the "third" place

[@Everywhere4]

I would say it is a loss of three factors. Loss of leisure. Loss of meaning. Loss of community. A genuine community consist in my view of people that know each other personally. The loss of community Leads people to search for a replacement which they find in mass society. Mass society then acts for them as a surrogate community to simulate a feeling of belonging. This is also the reason why there are so many people that are willing to fight and die for a society that doesn’t even acknowledge their existence.

[@Consciousness_of_Reality]

@@Everywhere4 I agree with others, but today is the era of leisure, you dont need to rely on other people and there are infinite entertainment with technology, children today are much happier and live much better childhoods than any other time in history. The other points can be solved by a new spirituality for all society.

[@aad369aad]

@@Consciousness_of_Realitythese new forms of leisure are much more conveniently accessible but they are cheaper in some sense. I believe that is where the issue may lie. Leisure activities in the past seemed to be much more based in the present, requiring effort and engagement from the parties involved. So, although we may have more of it today, I believe that the leisurely times of the past might have been more rewarding.

[@zenoofcaledonia2439]

I work 3 days a week, and other 4 days I enjoy my hobbies. Amazing how much more motivation I have when I'm able to choose how I spend my time more freely

[@emil-rw5kh]

What you working?

[@wacomundo9599]

I have the same schedule as a nurse. Good money. Not stellar money, but we live a comfortable life.

[@ximono]

"You don't question the meaning of life when leisure is the heart of life rather than work." 🎯 Questioning the meaning of life is a symptom of a life not fully lived.

[@hibernopithecus7500]

Or a symptom of a life lived by someone not so easily satisfied. Or placated. 😉

[@jasonharris2598]

The realest compliment I can give is you are one of the only channels I pause and rewatch sections of to fully comprehend what you’re saying. You do great work, keep it up!

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

Thank you so much Jason that's a joy to hear

[@Vak_g]

Thank you very much for this video! It fascinates me how people dreamed of progress as a way to be wealthy and healthy enough so they can enjoy life by spending time with loved ones and having the means to fulfill their inner call. Nowadays, we work all day long without even questioning what we aim to achieve. Our civilization couldn't escape meaning crisis as long as it doesn't provide people a way out of this situation in which work and success seem to be the ultimate value of life

[@ReynaSingh]

Leisure is necessary for allowing the mind to wander. But this wandering can take us to new heights or dangerous lows. There’s a reason we say that idle hands are the devils workshop

[@setsen337]

Dumb argument, literally pro-slavery because 'if people had free time they might use it "wrong"' Read Bertrand Russell's In Praise of Idleness

[@Pazuzu-]

Then keep on being a slave, no one is preventing you from it.

[@oogabooga4944]

I partially disagree. I love the emphasis on leisure and agree that we can learn much from the peasants of mid evil times, but to say they only worked for half the year is incorrect. They still had work just not agricultural. Imagine working a 9-5 for half the year then your “free” days were spent running errands like mending close, fixing your house, and even still some work on the farms like milking cows needs to be done constantly in order to prevent them from clogging. Some even(all he it more modern dairy cows) have there utters explode

[@ilikemaline]

I think it's so sick that I have to go somewhere for 8 hours for 5 days and have a couple of hours a day to myslef. Working on changing that.

[@rupertsmith9460]

Watched the whole video, thank you for your transparency Very, very interesting to hear your observations regarding Brand. I have been a subscriber of his for a number of years now and recently have started to seriously question his direction. Would be **incredibly** interested to watch a video on him from your perspective. In regards to your content - I agree with your reflection. I'll give you a window into my life if it is of any help to you. My very life is very tiring and I'll often click on videos such as yours to listen to as a backdrop. I find your voice very calming and easy to listen to. Unfortunately I don't have the time to read books on philosophy, but I do very much enjoy the ideas and conversations that people have about it. So for me, a lot of the names you will bring up in your videos don't really mean much to me, but I will watch anyway to take some kind of lesson or idea away to help make sense of the world a little more, or to learn something new about myself. I do agree with your assessment that your more recent videos have been a little on the heavy side. So I think you are on the right path with this channel update. But please make of my feedback as you wish. Very excited to see what your new content will look like. Thank you again for all that you do 🙏

[@CatsGoMoo100]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. A welcomed and enriching breath-of-fresh-air of a video. Thank you!

[@bduffy1215]

Beautifully done James. The struggle is real, finding the strength to move in that directions, leaving what we were told and learnt that was important as a foundation of our society, behind, swimming against the tide to live an inner life of happiness and contentment.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

Thanks Bill

[@matthijsbog7276]

sunday is such an amazing day to upload. can end a weekend with a great living philosophy video!

[@freeda4100]

Excellent. Thanks

[@michaelcalixte355]

“Babe wake up Living Philosophy dropped a new video”

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

😂

[@glittercupkate]

AMAZING!!! Thank you

[@akaisenpaitsubakihiganbana6706]

Return our forests.

[@newcures7813]

Thanks man. Very well-done 👏 - And although it may be tough facing of reality of our times, it’s also paradoxically inspiring to hear the comparison made and to have some clarified insight as to the cost of the pursuit of the promises of the modern path so well-trodden. 🙏

[@MadameDeSquiggles]

Wow, this video is eye opening. Really some food for thought.

[@TomCarberry413]

Two short books on leisure one can get online for free: Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga and Leisure the Basis of Culture, by Josef Pieper. I took these books to heart many years ago and spend more than 75% of my time in leisure activities. (maybe more than 90%, I don't track it).

[@simonrudduck8726]

Standing ovation 👏🏼

[@vashposh]

great job

[@Harrow_]

Felt great re-listening to some of the arguments from one of my favorite videos of yours “Dionysus a God for our times”. Keep up the good work.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

Interesting I must go back and listen to that again myself and see where Diogenes fits in this whole nest of thoughts

[@Harrow_]

@@TheLivingPhilosophy Wait, Dionysus not Diogenes. The main points from that video will stay with me forever. Your insight of searching for the ideal of our times not in the stars but in the ground, in reconnecting with our lower instincts and giving in to our impulsiveness and deep, dark desires once in a while, was an eye opener for me. As Nietzsche highlighted in Twilight of the Idols, you don’t acquire power over your desires and wants by cutting them off from your life completely, but by fighting them face to face and accepting the indulgence. You are not a slave to passions, you are your passions, as much as you are logic, memory, and rationality.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

@@Harrow_ ah haha it's funny because I used an image of Diogenes in the video so maybe that's what put him in my mind. Great to hear about the impact of the Dionysus video!

[@simonrudduck8726]

Thanks

[@abesapien9930]

"Time is our tyrant," said Aldous Huxley. He attributed our modern restless state to train schedules.

[@silentm999]

Our productivity and "progress" is due, in part, to secularism. We want to leave a material legacy because there is no afterlife. Thats as close to meaning as we can get in a material world. Its our bid for immortality. This leaves a hole where meaning used to be. Meaning that was derived When we all followed a religion, and had that structure, rules to live by, and meaning. Now everyone is latching onto this or that idea, trying to replace religion, and destroying themselves and others in the process. People need metaphysical beliefs. People need a structure to live their lives within. In addition, religion often provides discipline, and it is an amazing time to be alive if you're disciplined. Also, societies function much better with a shared structure for their lives. Now we have people who believe in liberalism, or conservatism, or veganism, or paychology-ism, or any number of ideologies that have taken hold. This is making our culture schizophrenic. Segal’s Law: “A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with 2 watches is never sure.” Ancient societies followed a single narrative. Modern societies are cacophonies of competing narratives. Without trust, more data doesn’t make us more informed but more confused. -From Gurwinder Bhogal. Hes brilliant. And what sounds different, but is in fact the same problem, is the utter lack of community. Because religion is community. We are hard wired to work within groups toward common goals. This act lights up the same parts of our brain that cocaine does. Whats the answer? If you want to help yourself, create community, and create meaning, and dont exploit that power. Real life community. In person. Not a Discord. The internet is not a cure for isolation. Like it or not, we need each other.

[@Consciousness_of_Reality]

Cultural pluralism is both inevitable and a floureshment in society's culture. Instead of separating people into groups which will naturally not like each other and cause conflicts, we should develop a whole new spirituality which looks to unite and integrate people, replacing our common methaphysics (materialism) with a new methaphysics.

[@erh3196]

5:31 that aint just no peasant thats Diogenes

[@jabbrewoki]

Algo for the rythm.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

🤘

[@dailystoic09]

tks pro

[@vinzaux]

ok now i'm putting the finger in the eject button

[@ARLimitless]

Sir I would suggest that you consider to keep bgm music a little low. Rest your videos are really valuable.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

Thanks for the feedback I'll keep this in mind in future

[@bigol7169]

9:46 woah

[@Pazuzu-]

I havent lost it, I practice it everyday, even when Im training my @$$ off.

[@preferredpronoun3689]

For those with hobbies and a satisfying life, will the miserables bring down it all for everyone tho?

[@darinehoumani4651]

What is the name of the writer of this article?

[@AuthenticBranding]

I am one of your technological optimists. I believe life is significantly better. I believe the increase in depression isn't due to technology or social media. I believe it lies in the hyerarchy of needs. Now that our physiological, safety, and other needs are covered, we have a different need to attend to.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

Interesting and y'know what I've had this thought at times and I can see your point of view. I must play around with that again because I think there's something in that - more of a cultural developmental lens. Interesting take

[@AuthenticBranding]

@@TheLivingPhilosophy I pull my work from Claire Graves and Spiral Dynamics mixed with Abraham Maslow's Needs and a bit of Genre study with Truly and Story Grid. It'd be worth a chat if you are interested.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

@@AuthenticBranding y'know what that does sound like fun. I've been contemplating a return to Spiral Dynamics again and towards the integral/metamodern space in general. Maslow also been on my mind (I guess developmental hierarchies being the pull). Never heard of Truly and Story Grid. Anyway it sounds like it could be fun. Could you send me an email and we can arrange this? Maybe even make a patreon interview out of it if you were comfortable with that

[@Brivoria]

Makes you think, how can we get back to a more balanced life...? A revolution?

[@setsen337]

Short answer, yes.

[@DamienWalter]

These efforts at a revisionist history of "the past wasn't that bad actually" are always part of the far left / far right project.

[@Everywhere4]

The ideology of progress has been in decay since the end of the Cold War. People believed that This was now the peak of civilization, the end of history, with a capitalist liberal democracy as the final form in the competition of ideologies. But far from it, as it became increasingly clear that history did not stop, that liberal democracy was neither necessary nor sufficient for the success of a society, as it became clear what damaging effects technology has on the environment and the human psyche, as it became clear that technology is the greatest threat for the survival of humanity itself. The narrative of progress is in decay and even the former champions of progress, the political left, now begins to lose faith in it.

[@david86dixon]

can you elaborate? Are you disagreeing with his argument? would love to hear more.

[@DamienWalter]

​@@david86dixonThere's no point agreeing or disagreeing with an argument that is made for a secondary purpose. But it's useful to note what the secondary purpose is.

[@DamienWalter]

@@michaelmcclure3383 Plus plus minus minus minus plus = zero

[@Faustobellissimo]

a bever?

[@alexalpine4490]

age

[@Consciousness_of_Reality]

Today is not really the era of work, it is the era of leisure, work was much worse in the past two centuries. Movies, series, videogames, videos, anime, manga, all of these is infinite independent entertainment, the closest we had before were books, but everything else you depended on other people, and it required luck to find the best people. Other entertainments like board games, books, parks, alcohol, sex, drugs (except hunting now), bikes, skates, are very much alive today. There is indeed a metacrisis, with nihilism and loneliness, but it isnt necessarily because of systemic problems, but because of our own methaphysical worldview.

[@Faustobellissimo]

Dude, real historians know that you cannot use either of these two narratives for the whole Middle Ages. The medieval period is so long that you must switch narratives many times. You cannot compare the Barbarian invasions, the Feudalism, the Communes and the Humanism...

[@robdavies4294]

Excellent video, nit picking and personal preference... I didn't like the used of sh*tty in the first 2mins - unnecessary.

[@TheLivingPhilosophy]

Feedback noted and appreciated thanks Rob

[@rikkikeen1859]

1. Birth 2. What the f**k is this? 3. Death Why are we here? Is this a stupid question? Getting lost in the flow time of booze or the dance of a “better” hobby, does it matter which? East, West, progressive or traditionalist, none have the answer. A race to the bottom, in need of salvation? Or a sea of ecstatic relativity our mind can’t grasp - is it serious or just play? iPhone zombies and “beauty” filters, we can lose our soul 😮🤣🤷🏼‍♂️💤