That may seem like a very strange assertion, but without real leisure there is no contemplation. Thus, people spend no time trying to figure out the meaning behind the holidays they celebrate, or to wonder why they perform their daily traditions let alone admire and celebrate the world. For leisure is more than a state of not working, it is an attitude of the mind and a condition of the soul which allows people to look on the world in wonder and wonder in turn leads to contemplation.
Current society does not really allow for leisure. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics tells me Americans work, on average, more than 50 hours a week. This leaves little down time. The time they are not at work Americans have filled with consumer substitutes for leisure--either they scheduled that time with activities so they are still on the go, or spend it shopping, watching tv, or the like. When time not at work is spent in such pursuits is it surprising that holidays have become so commercial? According to Josef Pieper, the pursuit of these mindless distractions not only prevents people from confronting the awesome reality of existence. It undermines and even corrodes civilization and culture.
As a parting thought I will leave you with a favorite poem of mine on the topic.
What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep, or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
--William Henry Davies
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