““It’s a good thing I ain’t scairt to be lazy,” Augustus told him once. “You may think so. I don’t,” Call said. “Hell, Call, if I worked as hard as you, there’d be no thinking done at all around this outfit. You stay in a lather fifteen hours a day. A man that’s always in a lather can’t think nothin’ out.””
– Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove
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“Work is what horses die of. Everybody should know that.”
– Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich
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Sure hard work is important. Nothing can really be achieved without it. But before we harness ourselves up shouldn’t the question be raised, “why am I doing this?”
Perhaps those who are compelled to overwork are trying to not stop. Maybe the stopping would lead to an unwelcome confrontation with themself.
Work can be an escape. A way of hiding from self discovery. A life of perpetual motion. But for what purpose?
Having time to think can lead to hard truths. But it helps us get closer to ourselves. Reflected time is rarely wasted.
I’m happy to sit back and watch the horses run themselves into a lather.
Not everything needs to be worked out, I’m a fan of stretching out and letting my mind wander.
Conversations With Quotations 