LOAFING AROUND WITHOUT FEELING GUILTY: SCIENCE MIDTERM

The standard definition of the word loaf is to idle one's life away, typically by aimless wandering or loitering.  It usually conjures up a negative impression of a someone who is lazy, apathetic and indifferent to responsibilities.  The demands of modern daily life have cast an air of disapproval on downtime and rest.  We feel guilty for not scheduling every second of our day with errands and things to do.  The lack of rest in our society has led to health problems, sleep deprivation and psycho-emotional issues.

My assignment on loafing addresses the inability of our culture to cultivate relaxation as a priority for health and happiness.  What is my definition of loafing?  How does loafing affect my life?  Are there any activities that are more conducive to the loafing?

My first experience with loafing this week was when I had a day to myself at home.  I noticed that even though I had things to do around the house,  I was in a relaxed state.  It is infrequent that I get time to "putter" around my house.  I'm usually so busy that time spend at home is extremely limited.  The fact that I had a whole day at home gave me a sense of mental peace.  I was free from the  constraints of a scheduled day and didn't have to worry about being anywhere at any specific time.  This act of loafing mede me realize that I felt significantly more grounded.  It had been awhile since I felt centered and I had forgotten how comforting and relaxing the feeling was.  Therefore,  I was able to connect the act of loafing with the feeling of being grounded.  The busy nature of our lives unravels our centeredness by scattering our energy in many directions.  This causes us to feel frenetic and unbalanced.

After midterms were over, I had time during the evenings to catch up on a British cooking show called, "Lords and Ladles."  It features three of Ireland's top chefs who gather at historical Irish manors to recreate elaborate banquet menus from the past four hundred years.  I was able to catch up with six episodes of the show in two sittings and felt happy that I could use my time to loaf appropriately.  After the marathon, I realized that my mind was able to relax since I wasn't thinking about anything during the show except how good all the food looked!  There was no need to exert my mind and I was able to experience the same feeling of centered peace I had earlier when I had the day  to putter around the house.

I woke up the morning of the Fourth of July holiday and went about my usual routine.  I had a cup of coffee and read some news online at the kitchen table.  We planned a bbq with some family later in the day but preparations could wait until the afternoon.  I climbed back into bed with a book and covered myself with my cozy comforter.  My loafing consisted of not getting out of bed to attend to chores.  I allowed myself to focus on the book instead of thinking of what I had to do next.  This was a practice of being in the present and I realized that this was grounding in itself.  When I don't worry about the past or future and stay present in the moment, there isn't a feeling of anxiousness.  Modern living has trained us to be unfocused through technology and a high paced culture.   We are too often thinking of something else beside what we are doing in the present.  The mental distraction uproots our sense of centeredness and creates worry and tension.

By now, I was getting a good sense of what loafing meant to me.  I took the opportunity after science classes were adjourned to spend the day with my son.  We headed into San Francisco and had a delicious sushi lunch and walked around the city after.  Instead of thinking of the things that I had to catch up on, I allowed myself to enjoy my time with him.  I realized that when I allowed events to naturally unfold, I was not putting a set of expectations on my activities.  The sense of freedom from not having any expectations was quite liberating and from this sense of freedom, I felt a powerful sense of peace within myself.  

Often times in life, we are unconsciously setting up a set of rules that govern our thoughts, actions and words at every given moment.  What we don't realize is that the control we exert on situations and people has a negative effect on ourselves.  Loafing has taught me lessons on not only relaxation, but more importantly about the role of the ego in creating negative feelings of what we should or should not be doing.  I'm not saying that we can ignore the demands of modern life but rather to remind ourselves that we can strive to incorporate the spirit of loafing into our daily activities.  Loafing is a state of mind that  serves as a compass which guides us back to the place that makes us feel whole again.