“Far from idleness being the root of all evil, it is rather the only true good.” - Søren Kierkegaard
Do you agree? I think I agree to a certain extent, in that we can spend so much time making plans, and keeping busy, because we worry that if we don’t we will miss out on things in life. There is a definite pressure to “live life to the full” so to speak, to experience as much as we can in our lifetime. I think, although this may have a place, it can be a bad mindset to adopt. How valuable is any experience if we don’t take the time to appreciate what has happened to us, to look at how it felt, how it has changed us?
For me, the time of reflection, and appreciation, is just as important as the experience itself, and this reflection comes to me in a time of “idleness”, of the body at least. I’m not sure if this was what Kierkegaard was getting at, but I think it is an important thing to consider none the less, especially with so many people saying “live life to the full”.
I don’t agree with the statement. Maybe Kierkegaard was thinking along other lines, but flat out idleness does no one any good.
Absolutely, but living life with no idleness is as bad. You have to find an equilibrium, just like everything it seems.
perhaps you could put it like this: it is important to think about what we do, why we do it, etc. for most people, this time of reflextion comes at a time when there is not much physical distraction…. which could be seen as idleness. good thoughts anyway.
I think that was what I was getting at :) Thanks.