There are few things that go through such a dramatic transformation as travel after one has children. Here I sit, at Denver International Airport at a barely comfortable "recharging station" in order to check in and report on my month of idle behavior. Normally, the airport is a sterile, boring environment to avoid for any length of time, but after having children, I find it a sanctuary of sorts, especially when I'm traveling alone. Well, a sanctuary except for the screaming baby in the background and the people who have begun to crowd around me in order to recharge their devices. Damn it, people: don't you know I'm trying to relax here?!
I'm on a rare business trip and one that I didn't even need to concoct in order to get a few days respite from the challenges of parenting. I haven't been able to be nearly as idle as I would have liked over the past week or so; some clients of mine had the audacity to actually give me work and make me money. Ug. Actually, I'm joking about the work; I haven't minded, but I have found that this idle lifestyle is rather addicting and now that I've sampled it for a bit, I want more! Once my docket is cleared of these projects, I may extend my idle experiment into March (and beyond?....)
Continuing to read and very much enjoy the book that started it all: How to be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson. I read his delightful chapter on (and paean to) napping yesterday right before I (you guessed it) took a nap. The whole book is so funny that one might write it off as a big laugh (in fact, the cover categorizes it as "Humor") but, at least to me, there is so much truth in its pages, it should be a required read for everyone in our overworked, under-rested country. A friend of mine recently was singing the praises of Spain for their pace of life, the way they linger over meals, and their sense of priorities between work and life. It struck me as ironic that this person is putting in at least 50 hour weeks, traveling extensively and is admittedly run down due to his work load. No knock on him: he's a good friend who just took a new job with this company, so what can you expect? But it illustrated to me the gap between what we prize in other cultures and how we are somehow still bound to the realities of our American (and generally Western) ethic: work harder and longer than the 'other guy' so that you can come out ahead competitively and financially.
But what does it all get you? What does a shitload of money really buy you that the right lifestyle decisions can't get you anyway? For me, money is all about freedom. My wife and I had a conversation years ago after I had read a financial book that recommended a comprehensive chat between spouses about money, retirement, savings, etc. I knew we were basically on the same page, but the talk elicited the fact that, for us, a large pile of retirement cash would allow us to do whatever the hell we wanted with our lives. Freedom. And travel, too, something that often takes a good bit of scratch.
It is only in the last few years that I have begun to realize that the simpler your needs are, the simpler your lifestyle (and work schedule) can be. Being idle doesn't mean completely idle for me; I like working, I like doing things; I'm very much liking writing this blog and am motivated enough to do it that I'm still perched on this stiff stool in the middle of "A" concourse at DIA. But it's a matter of some choice.. some flexibility. Take the work I've been doing over the last week: it's a fairly short spurt of effort that lets me be a little creative and provides the larger benefit of a cash infusion. But a little bit of work goes a long way. My ideal is to put in 3 or 4 hours a day on average. That's plenty. And I like a few days a month when there is no agenda, providing time for reflection, meditation, and revitalization. Most of us could use more wide open time in our lives.
Rule #1 of the idler? Keep your overhead low. That way you don't get caught working too hard to maintain the big house, the huge car payment, the expensive toys. The more things you own, the more you yourself are owned. I hate clutter. I hate excess stuff. More and more I am enjoying a new luxury: setting aside a few hours in the middle of the day for reading, a nap, a leisurely walk or a movie.
I hope if you're reading this you can carve out some time for yourself sometime soon to join me in my experiment. Let me know how it feels for you. One thing I've been neglecting a bit is my new DETOUR which I have revised and edited a few times, but still haven't completed. Really enjoying a new mix from Dangerscouse at bmbx.org. Here's a link.
Til next time....
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