Hands up if you’ve ever been called ‘lazy’? You see, you aren’t alone. Now, hands up if you actually put your hand up while reading this, and realised you’re sitting by yourself and could look a little silly? Ok, now we’re talking. That word ‘lazy’ is not a rare word. I hear it everywhere, you hear it everywhere, we might even hear ourselves call our own lifestyles ‘lazy’. That word is not a simple set of activities (or lack thereof), it’s a judgement. It’s one of those strange words we’ve come to use very often, but still has the potential to decide how you live! It’s quite a serious word. So what does it mean? And even more importantly, what does it mean today?
Firstly, it’s interesting to note that it’s one of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins‘ (of Catholic origin), and is called ‘sloth’.
I love sloths! They are such funny animals, they just hang in trees…literally hang from branches, and move so slowly it would be two years before you realise the thing’s movement is probably just an optical illusion…but that’s besides the point. ‘Sloth’ was the term used to describe a person who neglected the use of his God-given gifts. This was characterized by someone who spent many hours idle with little to no activity.
So that sounds like a pretty good definition for me, you have a body, with abilities and energy that could utilised for many different things, and yet you willingly refuse to take part in any activity. Okay, pretty good start… We even went Catholic on you guys!
HOWEVER… Today I’m seeing quite a different trend taking place. It is almost as if the term has morphed over time (as it is with most words these days), and it is a lot more difficult to call somebody ‘lazy’ in the classic sense. Now, it’s as if somebody turned the tables on us. Leisure has become something to achieve rather than avoid, and being on your feet all day doing constant menial work, is something to get away from! What a turnaround! You’re successful when you don’t have to work so hard, and still make a killing at the bank.
Not only that, the ‘lazy’ kids out there, are playing video-games – which are actually quite intellectually stimulating – and the really special ones, are playing the sports they love, or getting involved in the creative activities they enjoy! Today, a young boy who loves to sing, and spends hours on it, may be termed as lazy… Or the kid who’s passion is basketball, has many sections of the day just dedicated to shooting hoops and dribbling wherever he can find space. That kid has also been called ‘lazy’ by those who may look down upon him.
In a sense, some of the classic definition has remained intact, as some of the values have remained the same. Today’s world still treasures hard work as before, and things like study, and good honest work to earn a salary are revered as good qualities in a person. What has happened is that there’s been a proliferation of activity that didn’t exist 60 years ago. There wasn’t any Facebook, or Playstation 3, even worse, the internet was just beginning to take shape. With media also bringing in the ‘reality tv’ generation, it’s possible to get onto television if you’re in a competition to win a million dollars (Survivor anyone???). I’m sure this was not factored into the definition of ‘sloth’ way back when!
What I’m trying to say is that there’s a lot of hard work involved in being lazy these days! That kid with the NBA dream sweats all day, but how many people would tell him he’s wasting his time? The singer will struggle to learn the techniques that will make him better at his art, but we all know there’s only ONE winner on Pop Idols!
It’s crazy isn’t it? I’m now lazy if I’m sweating over something that isn’t deemed as hard work. No matter how much I love it, it could be useless in the eyes of those I look up to! That video-game that required all my intelligence to figure out, learn, understand, and play through, is pointless because it hasn’t led me anywhere in my life. Hey, being lazy has become one of the hardest jobs on the planet!
Honestly though, I like the ‘sloth’ idea. It involves an element that is normally not factored into defining laziness: the aspect of one’s gift. As I sit here and type, it would be easy for someone to tell me I should be crunching numbers instead, but this is my gift! This is one of the things I was given the potential to achieve. I could do anything else at this time of day, but I’m doing this…utilising my gifts!
Yes, there will be many things you do in your life that you may not enjoy, or may never want to do forever, but you will always have your gifts. Whether they pay your bills or put a smile on your face, they are always there. They may get rusty, but they never get old (think about that!). It may very well be that your laziness is the job that you’re in. Oops! Okay, let me qualify that: I’m not advocating mass job-resignations. I’m just saying: Don’t neglect the things you have a passion for, if they aren’t your job…and especially if they can help others! I don’t write for myself, I write for you.
Yes, today’s world presents us with many more opportunities to use our faculties, even pointless opportunities sometimes, but it conversely means that you also have many more ways of being lazy! As you go on with your life, remember that…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………..Agh!! I’m too lazy to finish this!
Over.
Over The Maze 