Comfort Media Series: Embrace Your Laziness

Photo by Author

 

Every tick of the clock is an added pressure for each of us to keep going. The strike of each second, minute, and hour urges us to move fast. Every ounce of our effort is maximized to accomplish the next deadline, plan another course of action, or simply scratch things off of a long list of chore. Nothing between such moments is meant to interfere. 

Though, in the grace periods between each task, each challenge, have we had the opportunity to ask ourselves, "Why must we continue to be so rash?"

As an ender to our Comfort Media Series, I share with you, dear readers, the reason why we must embrace the opposite of productivity—through a poem I often find myself coming back to, Ode to Laziness by Pablo Neruda. 

The poem is a retrospective look at our commitments to over-productivity, asking us with the benefit of hindsight if all our labor truly fulfills us, or if it was all just a struggle to find purpose. Are we hollowed out by the toxicity of the culture of overwork that continuously takes a toll on our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being? It points out that we are all ultimately burdened to live through the repeated struggle of exerting our all, so much so that we forget to even contemplate if leisure is even possible in-between our time?

This honed phenomenon of time anxiousness is a reflectively rejected by Neruda’s poem. Every now and then, we must seek detachment from the chaotic world. Our predisposition to find ourselves in stressful situations is naturally averted by laziness—not in the sense that we fill our moments of respite with mindless distractions, but rather as we master the art of idleness. 

Then, 

High up in the pines, 

Laziness 

appeared naked,
She led me off dazzled 
And sleepy, 
She showed me on the sand 
Little broken pieces 
Of material from the ocean,
Wood, seaweed, stones, 
Feathers of seabirds. 

The piece depicts a poet finding themselves in the comfort of the structureless-ness of their own thoughts, taking a break from deep thinking and instead, allowing themselves to be present in a place stripped bare with only the embrace of nature to accompany them.

Much like our human instincts, we must allow ourselves to opt for nothing ever once in a while, to feel no guilt when nothing is done. We can and should allow ourselves to let things simply pass by. When we are faced with great challenges, conflict, or distress, we can let time take its course.

We can let our guards down, allow ourselves to be betrayed by our very own surroundings, be empty and unassertive, which contrary to our common notions on productivity, can be healthy for it allows us to come out with a refreshed and more defined sense of self.

Neruda’s piece greatly resonated with me, and made me recognize my own limitations as a person—and the extent to which I can only reasonably push them. I cannot always carry the weight of tedious responsibilities. We shouldn’t make the habit of beating ourselves up for always being “too tired” and opt out to strain and exhaust ourselves into fatigue. Instead, having a quick café getaway with friends, a brief sunrise run when a deadline is still days away is always the healthier option. Some solace is to be prioritized if we are to work on our betterment.

To you, my dear reader, who might still find themselves in the middle of unresolved matters, may you follow Neruda’s advice and allow yourselves to be lazy—even if only once in a while. For only in such a way that we can truly recuperate the clear our cluttered minds.