by Joanie Peters

Bruce is a recent graduate with a Doctorate in Philosophy. He moved in with a friend in San Francisco while he looked for an apartment. Local bylaws required him to move his car every two hours during the day which he dutifully obeyed. One day he arrived to move his car and found he had been ticketed. He knew he had moved his car every two hours so he chose to fight the ticket. When in front of the judge, she asked him how far he had moved his car. He said he didn’t know and guessed it was about 30 feet. The judge looked up the law and told Bruce that he is required to move his car 35 feet every two hours. The ticket must be paid. This young philosopher's frustration could not be held back. He proceeded to lecture the judge on the difference between the rule of law and the spirit of the law. Yes, it was possible that he did not move his car 35 feet and, in this way, he broke the rule. However, he did move his car every two hours at a distance that created a space for someone else to park, which was the spirit in which the law was created.

The philosopher in me was fascinated by this story. I started applying it to other concepts in daily life including the ways in which we work. What is the rule of work and is there spirit in my work? I feel the divide between summer fun and the fall return to the routine of work. I have a longing to bridge that divide.

In his book, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness, Brother David Steindl-Rast says that the two poles of all activity are work and play. He says, “Work and purpose are so closely connected that your work comes to an end once your purpose is achieved” and that in play “all the emphasis falls on the meaning of your activity, play needs no purpose.” He says, “There is a tension between work and play, between purpose and meaning and if we let the tension snap, our life becomes polarized.” He believes it is an attitude of leisure that balances work and play. It helps us hold the creative tension between purpose and meaning.

In order to achieve a purpose we must take hold of a situation. In order to experience meaning you let the experience take hold of you. When we are in control, we feel safe. When we allow ourselves to be carried away, who knows where things will lead.

When my work is purpose driven only, my focus is on accomplishment and efficiency. I am motivated by ‘shoulds’ and my mode of movement could be characterized as striving. Although I am in action, there is a static quality to my work, a drudgery that leads to exhaustion. In simple terms, the rule of work is to get things done, make things happen. In my bones I can feel the meaninglessness of that.

For me, an attitude of leisure has been the magic to break the spell of long-held beliefs around work. It is not frivolous to work playfully. It allows time to come alive.

I visualize leisure as a place that I choose to inhabit. For example, the rule of grocery shopping might look like: need supplies, make list, drive to store, purchase items, drive home, unpack groceries. Whereas the spirit of grocery shopping might look like: prepare for a loved one’s birthday, walk to the store because I love walking, buy organic ingredients and read the labels because that matters to my loved one.

I give time to what takes time. In this way, I feel I am in the spirit of my work.