In Aristotle and Aquinas’s mind everything comes down to leisure—that is, if we understand the term as they do. So I never tire of trying to understand it, and of revisiting key statements about it. One of my favorite lines gives a great angle into one of the foremost challenges of our time: that we are so ‘busy.’

“We are busy that we might have leisure.” Now it seems that what Aristotle meant here by ‘busy’ was simply laboring in practical activities. So the straightforward point is that our labor or work ultimately is about activities (called leisure activities) that are beyond work. This is profound.

Yet I want to focus on the connotation of the English word ‘busy,’ (even if not implied in the original) as I think it offers some direction and indeed consolation to us who often find ourselves weighted down with busyness. A first meaning of the term busy—that of being actively engaged in something—pretty much corresponds to what Aristotle meant. But a further and common meaning of the term implies being very engaged, or crowded with activity. Thus many of us might characterize our days as ‘busy’ in this sense of crowded, moving quickly, and lacking space for certain things we would really like to do.

That life today for many of us is busy in this second sense is a significant phenomenon—one that calls for a deeper consideration of our society’s understanding and practice of work and leisure. But right now let us take for granted that the circumstances of life today tend to impose a certain busyness. I think Aristotle’s line about leisure gives us a key to managing our attitude or inner disposition in the midst of it.

Labor is not an end in itself; a fortiori, neither is being very busy in doing it. But labor is shot through with significance precisely to the extent that it stands in relation to rich activities that it serves. Likewise, if we must be very ‘busy’ in our labor, then this busyness too can take on a rich glow from what is beyond it.

Consider the mother whose day is packed with countless practical activities. Not only is she engaged in these, but at times she feels encompassed or even overwhelmed by them. She is busy; very busy. But Aristotle’s principle speaks to the heart of her situation. She is busy—in both senses of the term—so that she and those she serves might have leisure. It might not look or feel like it. Yet this is where her heart and intention can and should be. And it can transform her very busyness from within.

What leisure? Examples are diverse, and in a hierarchy. A moment of plenitude where parent and child are simply resting in some shared vision (that’s such a beautiful bird!); singing a hymn of praise together at the end of day; having even a fleeting moment where gratitude, or an expression of thanks, takes center stage.

Such things are not just a welcome respite. They are key instantiations of the deeper point of all the frenetic mess. And they do come—especially if we look for them, and set our hearts on them.

Taking time—even if oh so little—for meditation, reflection, and prayer is another key example of what the busyness makes possible. We cannot have such times (none of us) unless many people spend much time being quite busy. In some seasons of life such times are easier for us; at other seasons such times seem a luxury (though they remain essential). Some adults choose a life that is centered in such ‘leisure’ times. Here the ‘busyness’ that went into raising such a child bears a uniquely sweet fruit.

The life of a contemplative stands as a reminder to all of us that “we are busy that we might have leisure”… whether that leisure takes the form of a few precious moments scattered through the day, or the crucial if brief times carefully set apart for the interior life. And it is also a reminder of something Aristotle could not have known. There is a higher leisure to which we are all called.  And there will come a season for all who desire it and open their hearts to receive it, when all busyness at last will cease. And that which was tasted here below only through nibbles… gives way to a feast, where the sound of those celebrating never ceases. ~ ~ ~

TODAY’S PODCAST LEISURE: the CENTER OF HOMELIFE? What is the place of leisure in our homes? John and Sofia discuss what leisure really is and how, strange it sounds (!), prioritizing it is at the center of crafting the good life in our homes. Find and share all our podcasts HERE.

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John Cuddeback

Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.