Seneca — The Balance of Activity and Leisure

Western society is a hive of activity, of rushing and going, of nonstop motion. Humanity has never been more driven about, so bombarded by information and spurred to often senseless action, and what this gives us is often an illusion of activity, an illusion of productivity. But are we really going anywhere? As the Roman philosopher Seneca noted many centuries ago, in the then bustling society of Rome, rushing about and the love thereof is often as fruitless as standing still, and he conversely addressed the disdain for activity–the two extremes on the activity spectrum. Both of these he views as being deceiving and untrue to ourselves.

“A delight in bustling about is not industry–it is only the restless energy of a hunted mind. And the state of mind that looks on all activity as tiresome is not true repose, but a spineless inertia. Some men have shrunk so far into dark corners that objects in bright daylight seem blurred to them”

What he proposes, then, is a balance between these two extremes–a moderation, as Aristotle would put it.

“A balanced combination of the two attitudes is what we want; the active man should be able to take things easily, while the man who is inclined towards repose should be capable of action. Ask nature: she will tell you that she made both day and night.”

To live a balanced life of activity and rest, of being able to move about to our ambitions and also being able to take moments to pause, is what Seneca defines as being in touch with nature–and living a life that abides by nature, by the timeless order of all living things, is ultimately to live a life of health and fulfillment. Often we go beyond this, in fact most people do. And when one lives in the extremes one wears their spirit and body down.

What Seneca is calling for here is not to live a life of frightful simplicity of course.

“Philosophy calls for simple living, not for doing penance. And the simple way of life need not be a crude one.”

To live life according to nature is to live with balance, and to live with balance is, in part, to be active when one must be active, and be at repose when it is needed. Nature made day and night, two sides of the same coin. So too are activity and leisure inseparable.

Let yourself be swept away in this world’s current of change, for it is unavoidable, but do not let your head go beneath the water.