On Downtime

Those who are able to go on and on about their tasks without ever stopping to rest are few.  Most people, even the most hearty, must occasionally take a moment to rest themselves between projects.  The Tarahumara break from their long expeditions; the zealous put down their pickets; the mother puts her babe in a crib or play pen.  This does not signify a lack of commitment but merely fatigue.  Such fatigue, being an inevitable part of the human condition, requires humans to rest themselves from time to time, forgoing their usual doings for a brief, self-indulgent respite.

Usually, such a respite takes on the form of a meal or a nap, for eating and sleeping are essential to maintain proper functioning.  Sometimes, however, the fatigue is of such a sort that merely filling the belly or shutting the eyes and ears are insufficient to provide the sort of rest that one needs.  Stress, monotony, and over-exertion are all causes of a special kind of fatigue that cannot be treated by the practices most animals use as therapy.  The human life is like that of a candle:  for certain, it will burn brightly when at work, but if it burns too brightly for too long, it will be extinguished.  If the candle never burns, it never functions as a candle; it may as well be a doorstop.  If the candle burns too hard without stopping, however, it will quickly run down wick and wax alike.

Therefore, humans must occasionally pause their daily toils and simply allow themselves to "be", without becoming totally and perpetually inert, for inertness is as much a way to end one's existence as burning out.  How do humans cope with this problem?  How is a balance struck?  The answer is what we call leisure or "downtime".

Downtime is the period that most humans undergo when they have exerted themselves beyond what is tolerable and need to break from the tedium and strain of that which they have previously engaged in.  The human that sits writing all day leaves its dwelling to walk the outdoors; the human working in the hot sun all day retires to its domicile to enjoy less taxing activities; school children have recess; even the academic has sport.  These are all instances of undertaking leisurely activities to prevent one's self from burning out while also not becoming rigidly inert.

Why are such activities necessary, though?  Why is it insufficient to simply eat or sleep like other animals?  For some, these things are sufficient; for many, they are not.  To spend the whole of one's life ceaselessly toiling away at a single project is not what is normally possible; humans usually desire to do many things rather than one thing.  Sometimes it is necessary to follow these other desires to fulfill one's needs; to not follow them will lead to un-health.  Humans cannot simply ignore their needs, no matter how complex or artificial they may be.

The problem is that sometimes humans are unable to discern when downtime is needed and for how long, or what desires to follow in the downtime.  This is not a dilemma easily resolved, and it often requires different advice for different people in different situations.  The dedicated writer who never leaves his room or scrawling can almost certainly benefit from more time outdoors than the school boy who takes a daily recess; the soldier who has served a long time abroad almost definitely needs more relaxation and assistance upon returning home than the trader who easily goes to and from the marketplace daily.

These distinctions of needs must be made carefully and with great consideration.  Too much leisure breeds inertness; too little does not resolve the fatigue.  This is a matter of discipline.  The judgments of discipline are not impossible, but they require the utmost of one's power, and the greatest form of discipline is self-discipline, when one is able to accurately make the judgments for one's self.  Self-discipline is difficult, however, because even the self can deceive one into taking too much or too little.  Accordingly, awareness is always necessary.

Yet this should not be the object of worry, as worry causes stress and stress causes fatigue.  If one worries, one will be unable to relax and truly take the much-needed downtime.  Therefore, every day should be enjoyed and lived to the fullest, and this includes the waxing and waning of one's efforts.  Put yourself wholly into your engagements and delight in them, as if reaching into a cool pool on a hot day, but do not stretch too far and fall in.  If you do fall in, dry yourself on the warm, soft grass, but do not sit too long or you will burn.  Being wet, one can easily be dried; being burned, one must go through more difficult therapies to heal.