The Abscence of Leisure

     I must admit, I am very much entertained by a new genre of t.v. shows coming out in droves lately.  Mountain Men, Live Free or Die, Alaskan Bush People, Alaska The Last Frontier, The Legend of Mick Dodge, and, well, there are so many of them.  O.k., probably mostly because most of the people seem a little kooky and eccentric.  I wonder just how that guy can live in a hut constructed out of sticks and leaves.  Got squirrel?  Uh, no thank you.  A little elk or venison is about as adventurous and I like to get.  What the heck drives people to a way of life the complete opposite as we now find ourselves in this age of electronics and innovation?  While I don't think I could forgo electricity and indoor plumbing, something also appeals to me about subsistence living.  Something deep yet simple. 
     It really is a simple life, not an easy one, but a simple life.  I kind of envy that.  If I could live in a space where I could have a large garden, some fruit trees, and some chickens, I'd be happy as a clam.  All the people of these shows have the same thing in common.  A life of "leisure".  Can a person exist and experience the fullness of human existence without leisure?  I honestly don't think so.  I am as guilty of it as the next person.  Can I just have coffee in the morning and look out the window and just be?  Heavens no!  I must be checking my email, while coordinating my calendar which is full to overflowing with good things, while I hush gabby children clamoring for attention.  Reassuring them that I am almost done if they could just give me five more minutes of peace.  Peace, ha!  I think the kids have the right idea some times, pulling me away from myself to a place of presence in the here and now.  Away from distraction.
     Whether all those people on all those shows even believe in God or not, I think they may be more attuned to God than they realize.  Appreciating the beauty of his creation so intimately.  being present in the here and now.  I think the hardest place to be is alone.  Alone without distraction and without direction.  To be and exist in a place of stillness, quiet, and real reflection.  They call it harmony with nature, but I think in a real way, whether they realize it or not, it's harmony with God. 
     We all read articles about the importance of unplugging, and we may even try it for an extended period every now and again.  I think it's important to make it a daily experience.  So in that spirit I leave you, and I think I'm going to take my own advice and head out with the kiddos into some nature and a little leisurely quiet..  Maybe we're not all as good at "listening" as we like to think.........and maybe we need to start trying to get that leisure back into out lives a little bit each day.