Luxury

The past few days have been heavenly. I've done pretty much nothing, or only exactly what I want to do. It all ends tomorrow, but I've certainly enjoyed the time I've had. I like working hard, but I also like doing *nothing* really productive when possible (like most people, I'm sure). Today I was thinking about when I was a kid; I couldn't understand the concept of adults liking work. I would hear people talk about feeling productive like it was a good feeling and all I could think about was, "How is this better than playing? If you have the chance to play and choose to 'feel productive,' how is that good or fun or even remotely preferable?" I understand it now, though I'm not sure exactly when that transition took place. I can only "play" for a few days now before I start feeling restless and need to be productive. In fact, many of the things I do for fun are actually productive in some sense (or at least give me the feeling of being productive). I like making movies, taking pictures, writing blogs. Even getting through more of my Netflix queue makes me feel good in that I feel like I've accomplished something by taking three more movies off my list.

Some people lament this change from the days when playing pretend in a field was all we needed to be fulfilled. I think it's just a necessary step for a functioning society. If no one ever derived any satisfaction from a job well done (or even a job simply done), would anything ever get done? And if things did get done, would anyone ever be happy? I think it's good to enjoy doing work, but it's also good to play pretend once in a while.