I'm in New York City this week, on the final leg of my summer journey for the fellowship project. When I arrived this morning, I had the chance to wander around Central Park before my meetings began. Gazing out at all the New Yorkers sunning themselves in the July heat, I found myself thinking about young adults and leisure time. The way that we spend our "down time" says a lot about us. (The fact that many Americans barely know what "down time" is anymore, permanently glued to our email or Blackberries, says a lot about us as a culture!) But the choices we make in spending our weekends or vacation time reveal our priorities. Do we head for the hills and go camping in the great outdoors? Do we dream of lazy days by the beach? Do we visit family or friends? Do we ever do nothing at all?
Thinking about young adults and leisure time brings up many contradictions. Many 20- and 30-somethings aren't married and don't have children, so they seem to have less responsibilities and demands on their time - accordingly they should have lots of leisure time at their disposal. Yet our workaholic culture and the increasing hours of the workplace demand that those newest to the company put in long days to work their way up the ranks. Thus many young professionals feel the pressure to be available 24-7 and their vacation days go unused. Young families juggle two work schedules with day care and school schedules, and many can barely find the time or energy to make it to Mass on the weekends.
What happens to us when we don't make time for leisure? Looking back to the first chapter of Genesis, we find God taking time for rest - a whole day! God works for six solid days, the work of creation that involves the total gift of God's self. Then God rests for a day and takes joy in the goodness of all that has been created. So God understands both work and rest, and models sabbath/leisure time for us as humans. Yet all-too-often, we think we are too busy, too overwhelmed, too needed, too financially constrained to take time for our own rest.
The notion of reclaiming the Sabbath is utterly counter-cultural. Now it seems rare to find a shop that isn't open on Sunday, for shoppers' convenience! But I think our churches need to speak out about the importance of sabbath for our faith journeys. As humans created in God's image, we need time to rest, rejuvenate, and reconnect with the Spirit that is constantly inviting us into quiet, calm and peace. I wonder how many young adults even know how to rest and simply enjoy leisure time anymore, and what this could mean for their development as persons. The fact that many workers in our economy are not even able to take time off on the weekends or holidays brings up many questions of social justice: just wages, workers' rights, the common good. Efficiency and the financial bottom line are not always the greatest good when it comes to work serving the dignity of the human person.
2 comments:
you rock out those healthy understandings of boundaries! it is true that soo many people don't know how to relax! what does this mean for those who do relax-there can be the misconception that they have a poor work ethic. it is a wretched dichotomy that people are still trying to past.
This is a great post and critical for our society to grapple with. Interestingly there is a growing group of business thinkers who deny the dichotomy you mention: efficiency and bottom line vs. balanced work life. The most famous is probably Dan Sullivan who says that the most efficient financially successful people religiously carve out time to rest, relax, and recharge. These types of thinkers might offer some practical advise on how to creat balance in our society at large.
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