What is 'work' when you're in your mid-50s?
A (brief) personal reflection, plus races you'll love running in Cape Perpetua, Cathedral Caverns, Santa Barbara, Telluride + Cape Town
A few months ago, I wrote to you about the joy and beauty of simply being, about how much I enjoy “doing nothing and resting afterwards,” as someone I know once described it to me.
There’s a passage in the essay that particularly called to me, by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, which I’ll recap in full for you now:
Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying “Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.” Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached.
To be clear, I still very much agree with this — in spirit.
However, the reality of my life (and, I’d imagine, yours too) is that I still need to work. I need to bring home a salary and provide for my family, as I have kids in college and still in grade school. The people who collect the bills we pay… well, they aren’t going to be interested in my thoughts on Bertrand Russell for very long, you know?