After having to be at work or class or my internship or church or (some combination of those) every single day with very few breaks, I finally woke up this morning with no place in particular I had to be.
And as I picked myself up out of bed at about nine o’clock, I was struck by a strange feeling. I felt... guilty.
How could I not have a mountain of things to do? What was wrong with me? Am I becoming lazy? What if someone calls or emails or something? What would I tell them I was doing? Taking a “rest” sounded so wrong to me somehow.
But why should it? Rest is good. Rest is great. And as I look around, I think most of us could use more of it.
I am not saying we should drop everything and neglect our responsibilities. But I can’t shake the feeling that mainstream American culture is starting to work itself to death. We eat fast food in the car to save a few moments (when we eat at all). The 40-hour work week is now a distant memory. We work more hours than our counterparts just about every other developed economy in the world. I get the feeling most of us are in a constant race to prove to everyone else that we’re workaholics that are perpetually on a nasty occupational binge.
It’s part of the broader American disdain for balance. Either we are promiscuous or prudish, anorexic or overweight, teetotalers or drunkards. The idea of moderation seems quaint and alien to many of us. I bet even now as I write about “balance” some one out there is expecting me to start chanting about enlightenment or imploring others to unlearn what they have learned.
I can not speak for anyone else, but I find it hard to not get caught up in the excess myself. There’s more than a little bit of economic necessity attached to our busyness.
But vacation and weekends and holidays exist for a reason. We all need times off to think, to be with those we love, to remember who we are and why we are.
I still have to put in some hours as a retail grunt during the holiday season and I still plan on getting a few other things done during my days off. But do not be surprised if I become hard to reach before nine o’clock for a week or two. I’ll probably be sleeping in.
~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ
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