Beware the barrenness of a busy life
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life”. ~ Socrates
In 2020 during the economic shutdown of Covid 19 pandemic, greenhouse emissions were estimated to have dropped globally by between 5 and 8%. This figure largely attributed to a drop in carbon emissions due to travel and transportation restrictions. We drove and flew less while many of us stayed away from offices and workplaces.
This number tells us we can’t prevent a climate disaster by simply driving and flying less. Transportation contributes a significant - but overall - a small percentage of carbon emissions. However, the pandemic also gave a pause to think about our lives, our careers, about what we do, what we don’t do and how we wish to spend our time. As the economy springs back, and we question what is important to us; many people began to see the benefit of a reduction of stress, of more time with community and family…. Countless people acquired boots, bikes and boards and went to nature, some for the first time in years.
As a writer and outdoor guide, I often ponder the word ‘recreate’ - or re-create. Is there a greater purpose in life than creation? And in recreating, especially in nature, don’t we also reconcile so much of our lives?
Pondering this question leads me to the word, ‘vacation’ - which many see as a break from work - which millions of stressed out over-worked people don’t even take! I asked a theology professor about this and she pointed out that to vacation, means to vacate… and not just to vacate the office, but to vacate our selves, our minds, our day-to-day habits… to get away from the daily grind.
Are these realizations new? I discovered a newspaper article, written by Muir in 1876 where he suggested a “Centennial [of the Declaration of Independence] Freedom Act” or “law of rest” that would “set free the many urban slaves” by mandating vacation time for “men, women and children of every creed and color from every nation under the sun.”
Also writing on education he shared, “Compulsory education may be good, but compulsory recreation may be better. We work too much and rest too little.”
He ended the piece with “Cannot leave your business? Well you will leave it. Killed by overwork you will end up in the hearse of the jolly undertaker.”
Is it possible that taking a vacation, going to recreate in nature - taking a trip, walking through a forest, over a glacier, or riding all day, paddling across an inlet or lake or going to a new place… can benefit not only ourselves, friends and family - but also benefit our environment.
Is it possible to work less, to spend more time in nature - and at the same time improve [not only] our own lives, but the lives of future generations - by leaving the planet a little better than we find it?
Can we experience our eyes, minds and hearts being opened by sheer beauty of nature and everything in it?
What if a portal to feeling that enlightenment of spirit, joy of existence and sense of purpose - is to take that trip, to lace-up the boots, set off into nature - and see what we can’t yet know we will see?
A busy life can be fulfilling, but done to excess…? Socrates knew - it can be barren as well. Paradoxically, nature - which from a distance can appear barren, is not only full of riches in what it shows us… and doesn’t it also bring out a richness inside of us?
As a final thought for Trailblazer Tuesday. Consider taking fifteen minutes, a pen and some paper and write about a trip you dream of or have been putting off.
“Where will it be, what will you do, what will you see and how will it make you feel”?
Please share your ideas, conclusions, encouragement.
#trailblazertuesday #honolulu #hono