Maybe it's because
I'm getting older, I'm finding enjoyment in things that stop time.
David Hyde Pierce
Cup of Sunshine
A commonly used
proverb, attributed to James Howell, says, “All work and no play make Jack a dull
boy.” We’ve all heard this old aphorism and the implication is that we can’t
allow work to consume our whole lives, our whole being. Workaholics are just
not much fun to be around. So, perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise to
discover that the sixth heroic virtue is enjoyment – the state or process of
taking pleasure in something. Aristotle proposed that enjoyment was to be found
in the wholehearted engagement in expert activity – and that certainly includes
those activities which make up our avocations, not simply our day jobs – arts,
sports, reading, travel or even community activism. There’s a difference too,
in being the kind of virtuous hero with regard to enjoyment and simply doing
the virtuous thing.
A virtuous person
according to Hungarian psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is one who acts readily
and with pleasure (enjoyment) as opposed to the person who does the virtuous
thing “reluctantly and without enjoyment." Described by Richard Flaste of the New York
Times as “a man obsessed with happiness,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi* has “contributed
pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human
fulfillment and the notion of "flow" -- a state of heightened focus
and immersion in activities such as art, play and work” (TED, 2004). Such immersion involves a spontaneous state of
ecstasy due to entering into some creative activity that is so focused that one
loses track of time and place. The art,
the music, the writing, the vision, even the work simply seem to come
effortlessly because one is deeply enjoying the activity.
Sam Keen, in “Fire in
the Belly,” introduces the virtue of enjoyment with a remarkable story of Etty
Hillesum, a Dutch Jew who went voluntarily into a concentration camp because as
she said, “A camp needs a poet, one who experiences life there…and is able to
sing about it.” She writes movingly about finding enjoyment in every possible
thing – the slant of sunlight, the sight and smell of jasmine. “I can’t,” she
says, “take in how beautiful this jasmine is…even though the lice will be
eating me up in Poland before long.” From that example, Keen draws the
conclusion that in life, paradox is the rule and that is exactly why enjoyment
is a heroic virtue. “In considering the whole of life, we must at once hold
before our eyes visions of horror and wonder, cruelty and kindness. As you read
this sentence, somewhere in the world everything lovely and terrible is
happening” (Keen, p.170).
The virtue of
enjoyment lies in the fact that it keeps us from seeing ONLY the evil which
would result in our anger, moralizing or despair. “To get through the world
alive, we have to care until our hearts break and cram our lives full of
enjoyment. Both/and not either/or.” And that is exactly how and why our work in
the creative arts is a virtue even if we are unable to pursue it as a living.
Enjoying our creativity allows us to bring that joy into our work lives, our
home lives, our relationships which in turn can change routine into adventure,
plodding into enthusiasm, duty into passion.
So how do we develop
the capacity and the virtue of enjoyment? Here’s an article that gives us three
approaches – emotional, mental and physical – that suggests time-tested ways to
enjoy life more.
“Enjoying life is
often thought to be a mindset, the result of reflection, action and gratitude.
And while most of us lack sufficient free time to escape to some mountaintop
temple to follow our bliss, the best way to find happiness is to...” Read the rest on WikiHow http://www.wikihow.com/Enjoy-Life
References:
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. (2004, February). Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness. [Video
file] Retrieved
from http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html
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