6 Comments

My favorite kinds of vacations are where I can sit by water (a pool or a beach or a lake) and read and also nap, and for years I’ve felt like I’m wasting time and I should be *doing* things, but that’s what I enjoy! Why should I feel guilty? And you’re right, even taking the night off to watch tv is seen as lazy even though I worked all day and it’s okay to take time to rest my brain and not be *productive*. I’m so tired of the hustle culture and hope more and more we all start to lean away from it!

Expand full comment
author

You're absolutely right! I recently went on a workation and felt guilty about reading after work when I could be exploring or doing more things. It's awful, how our perception of rest has become so warped because of the hustle culture.

Thank you for reading!! :)

Expand full comment

I've lived in Paris for 12 years and as the world is opening up again, it's incredible to see a stream of folks from the USA coming over here and realizing that you're allowed to sit and drink coffee for a whole two hours on any given day of the week, and not feel like a lazy piece of shit because of it. Thanks for your post, and for this space. Reminds me of a great quote at the end of James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room," when the Italian lover tells the American exactly what's up:

“The Americans are funny. You have a funny sense of time—or perhaps you have no sense of time at all, I can’t tell. […] as though with enough time and all that fearful energy and virtue you people have, everything will be settled, solved, put in its place. And when I say everything,” he added, grimly, “I mean all the serious, dreadful things, like pain and death and love, in which you Americans do not believe.”

Expand full comment
author

That is an incredibly profound quote. I do think most parts of the world, the US included (which is absurd for a "first-world" country) put undue pressure and value on work. The first time I worked in Europe and people actually left at five (or even slightly earlier) I was so baffled. That work hours included lunch and you're not only expected but also encouraged to take your PTO was incredible to realize.

Somewhere I saw the quotes, work to live vs live to work and honestly, it's the distinction between the two that makes all the difference.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience, Samuél, I appreciate it. :)

Expand full comment

This is exactly what I needed to hear after a long week of work, looking ahead at a weekend of obligations. I can’t remember the last time I was able to truly rest and turn off my work brain. I gotta remedy that.

Expand full comment
author

I'm so glad my words resonated with you (although also a bit sad since that means a lot of us are not resting well). I hope find some time to do nothing — and do that just for yourself. Thanks so much for reading, Ashley! 💜

Expand full comment