Summary

The article discusses the overemphasis on work in modern life, advocating for a balance that includes the art of living beyond professional obligations.

Abstract

The author reflects on the disproportionate amount of time spent working in an average person's life, noting that this trend is a departure from historical necessity where work was a means to satisfy basic needs. The introduction of money as an intermediary has led to an endless pursuit of wealth, overshadowing other aspects of life. The piece cites Tom Hodgkinson's perspective on living as an art rather than an activity organized around a profession, and it critiques the modern cycle of working to earn money that is then spent trying to alleviate the boredom of work. The article suggests that the current conception of work is at odds with the art of living, which involves appreciating the present moment and finding beauty in everyday experiences. It calls for a reevaluation of life's priorities, emphasizing that while work is necessary, it should not define one's existence.

Opinions

Work occupies an excessive portion of our lives, often to the detriment of other life experiences.
The historical purpose of work was to fulfill basic human needs, but the modern pursuit of money has made work an endless and unfulfilling cycle.
The author agrees with Tom Hodgkinson's view that life should be an art, not merely an activity centered around a profession.
Our society's focus on work as the primary purpose of life is misguided and leads to a lack of fulfillment.
The art of living is about savoring the present and finding joy in life beyond work.
The author acknowledges the deep-rooted nature of the current system but encourages individuals to seek change in their own lives.
The article implies that the essence of life may be found in contemplation and the appreciation of beauty in the moment.

There’s More to Life Than Just Work

Living is an art.

Ever since I was old enough to wonder about the questions of life, I’ve always been profoundly shocked by the place that work occupies in our lives. In an article published by Gettysburg College, it is said that, on average, one-third of our life is spent at work.

“The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime.” — Gettysburg College

Originally, the working time was limited to what was necessary to achieve a specific goal. People were hungry, thirsty, and needed a roof over their heads. Work was, therefore, the means to meet these needs. They would hunt, find water, and build houses. There was no notion of unlimited need. When the need was met, other activities, such as social activities, would take place.

Nowadays, an intermediary has emerged. This intermediary is money. We work to make money, and we use this money to satisfy our needs. The basis of the problem is as follows: whereas the previous needs (hunger, thirst, security) were limited — once you have a roof over your head, you don’t need several others — money is unlimited. It’s a value that we can accumulate.

The greed of human beings then regained the upper hand. In today’s society, people work more and more because they want more and more money. If we stopped working as soon as our needs were met, our lives would be very different.

In his book “How To Be Idle”, the British writer Tom Hodgkinson writes:

“Living is an art and not something to be organized around a profession.”

In “How To Be Free”, he adds:

“We bore ourselves in order to earn money that we’ll later spend on trying to de-bore ourselves”

Nowadays, work has become life. It’s all about the job. Work. We don’t know how to do anything else. Work has become the purpose of our lives. Most human beings spend their sojourn on Earth working while putting blinders on, to avoid asking themselves too many questions, running in the hamster wheel again and again.

Living is an Art

“Existence is a fact, but living is an Art.” — Frédéric Lenoir

In Agora, a French online encyclopedia, Cathrine Reinaud writes about the art of living. Here is the translation of two paragraphs from her article:

“No matter how much we learn how to decorate our apartments, how to look at nature, how to organize our leisure time, how to cultivate our spontaneity, how to plunge ourselves into the mysteries of millimetric communication, how to polish our culture thanks to audiovisual means, how to try out creativity and sensitivity seminars, we must bitterly note that we no longer possess the art of wasting our time, nor the art of saving it which, together, constitute precisely the two faces of the art of living.

Above all, we have lost the roots that fostered in the shadows the blossoming of the art of living, the “secret auxiliaries” that fertilize the sensitivity and intelligence that are the consciousness of time and death, the cosmic feeling and, as a consequence of the first two, the love of life.”

She masterfully concludes:

“The art of living consists in eternalizing the present through the perfection and beauty of the moment, desired, wanted and savored, more or less clearly, as such.”

Our current conception of work is in profound opposition to the art of living. And since work takes up the major part of our lives, our lives are in total disagreement with the very idea of living.

I don’t pretend to change things. Our system is so entrenched that it would not happen within a snap of the fingers. In our world, everything revolves around money. In that sense, and while it could be used fairly, money is a real scourge. It is for money that people die. It is for money that the environment is destroyed.

If all this speaks to you, if it resonates with your way of thinking, then it’s time to change your life.

“At every moment a new life is offered to us, today, now, right now, it’s our only hold.” — Alain, philosopher

In the collective book directed by Laurence Hansen-Löve, “Art. D’Aristote à Sonic Youth”, we find two passages that open to a different way of thinking. Here’s a translation of it again:

“Always we want to seek the eternal elsewhere than here; always we turn the mind’s gaze to something other than the present situation and the present appearance; or we wait to die as if every moment were not death and life.

We pose and hide under borrowed styles, attitudes and behaviors a life to which we are, paradoxically, inattentive.”

Let’s live again. Work is necessary, yes. But it is not the essence of life. The essence of life is still a fuzzy notion, but it seems that it actually lies in some form of contemplation.

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