I found myself lost in the woods towards the end of 2020, metaphorically speaking. I took time and investigated what my year consisted of in the midst of the chaos which had unfolded. I lacked a number of disciplines in my life which led me to fall spiritually astray. The need for order, routine, and tradition overcame me as I desired to get back on the right path. For this reason, I decided to embark on Exodus 90: a rigorous spiritual transformative expedition for Catholic men. I will spare the details, but some things sacrificed during those days are media (such as YouTube, and Netflix), snacks, alcohol, video games, and more, while intense prayer, rigorous exercise, and such are incorporated into our daily schedule. Since I could not do many of the activities that I normally enjoy during those 90 days, I realized that I needed to make proper use of my free time. I started to contemplate and write down a plan for incorporating good leisure time for the sake of my growth \u2013 both intellectual and spiritual.<\/p>\n
Before I could come up with new habits of leisure, I wanted to identify the ones that were causing restlessness within me. Out of the many distractions I had in 2020, my worst was media: I spent countless wasteful hours on YouTube and scrolling through Twitter and other forms of social media. There is nothing wrong with the use of Instagram, Twitter, et cetera, but the overuse of such can be wasteful. I realized that looking at content that neither made me grow nor be of use to me, led to a decline in my spiritual life and productivity. Instagram, for example, is purposefully designed to keep you scrolling on the app, which I would do many hours each week. I sought to change this habit; although it was not an easy start, I realized that in order to grow, I needed to do something uncomfortable. How could I grow as a person if I simply stayed in my own comfort zone? For example, if I wanted to lose a significant amount of weight and get out of my habits of sitting on the couch all day, I would have to do the uncomfortable and stop being lazy, get up, and start moving in order to achieve those goals. In my specific situation, if I wanted to stop consuming wasteful hours on media, I needed to set boundaries (which can be uncomfortable) and refrain from my old habits. Upon sacrificing this, I found myself with a lot of free time initially. Many college students find themselves in a similar situation; after conversing with others, I noticed that they were just as wasteful and unproductive in their free time. I realized that an excessive amount of free time often leads to depression, loneliness, and isolation. I found myself in that category too, but thankfully a few of my thoughts \u2013 gathered with the help of some of my classes, literature and experience \u2013 helped me overcome those sentiments.<\/p>\n
To go about substituting good leisure for my social media addiction, I had to actually contemplate what exactly good leisure presupposes. One of the more important titles written on that topic in the twentieth century was Joseph Pieper\u2019s Leisure: The Basis of Culture. He defines leisure as \u201cthe disposition of receptive understanding, of contemplative beholding, and immersion in the real.\u201d Essentially, Pieper argues that leisure is a certain understanding of the mind and a condition of the soul that stimulates a capacity to perceive the reality of the world. Using Pieper\u2019s work and arguments, I will suggest how good leisure appears on the surface, but also the internal impact it can have.<\/p>\n
Pieper writes, \u201cleisure is a form of silence; of that silence which is a prerequisite of the apprehension of reality. Only the silent hear, and those who do not remain silent do not hear.\u201d He begins by arguing that the first step towards leisure is silence in order to hear,not in a literal sense, but rather in a manner to perceive the world with our eyes and minds. This does not necessarily mean to cancel all kind of noise and to live life like a Carthusian Monk in pure silence. Rather, it suggests that this silence is for the soul\u2019s power to answer to the reality of the world if left tranquil. Leisure, in Pieper\u2019s work, \u201cis not a Sunday afternoon idle, but the preserve of freedom of education and of culture of that undiminished humanity which views the world as a whole.\u201d This idea suggests a pulling away from the distractions of the real world. Leisure is thus not primarily found in a work setting or while doing a chore, but instead, a way to work on oneself for the sake of others during free time and to orient ourselves to be strengthened for God and for neighbor. This is almost countercultural since leisure is usually thought of as only for the sake of one\u2019s own pleasure. Pieper argues that the whole purpose of leisure is to grow in virtue \u2013 interiorly and exteriorly \u2013 as an act of worship of God and a purification of the self.<\/p>\n
Leisure, when understood with Pieper\u2019s definition, is the primary means to properly tackle Exodus 90 apart from one\u2019s daily duties. The reason that some of my housemates and I decided to undertake Exodus 90 was driven by a shared desire to grow as men: men who take risks out in the world and are not weak when it comes to facing trials and temptations. We aspire to be men who lay down their lives for their neighbors and men who die to themselves and pick up their cross to follow Christ every day. We strive to be men who desire to be \u201cperfect as [our] heavenly Father is perfect\u201d (Matt. 5:48). This would not be accomplished if I spent my leisure time slacking, for example, playing video games when I promised not to. In my mind, I wanted to use leisure as a mechanism to build the ark that protects the world from the flood. The world is dangerous and polluted, often filled with hatred, anger, distractions and opposition; but in St. Paul\u2019s words, my intention for all is to \u201cset [our] minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth\u201d (Col. 3:2).<\/p>\n
I created a list of different leisure activities that would assist me to both relax and grow in worship of God and for neighbor. This list differs from the conventional \u201cgo out and exercise\u201d or \u201cjournal every day\u201d that people typically plan to do regardless. I settled on five directives for leisure that have greatly impacted me over the last few months:<\/p>\n
One of the strongest ways to grow in the basis of our culture is by indulging ourselves with proper leisure. True leisure is not about taking a few breaks throughout the day to play video games or binge watch shows on Netflix. Rather, the way we can break open this world of distractions is if we genuinely go deep and consider the profound things of the world and the marvels of God. I am not saying we should all do Exodus 90 (or Fiat 90 for women), but we all should decide what to do with the precious time given to us. My encouragement is to use leisure wisely so that we can stay on the right path of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I found myself lost in the woods towards the end of 2020, metaphorically speaking. I took time and investigated what my year consisted of in…<\/p>\n