"If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!" *** Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) American Author *** (quote courtesy of David Gurteen, www.gurteen.com ) Of course it's uncomfortable reading in environmental terms. It's got me thinking in another way too. There's leisure, in which we do nice things by choice, such as going for walks in woods, and work, in which we do what we have to do, take the rough with the smooth, got-to-make-a-living sort of thing. People often talk about ' Life work balance ' , but are life and work indeed separate? 
(Photo - a carpet of primroses amongst ancient oaks, click to enlarge)
Two people I know, an outdoor education teacher and a speaker ( Richard Wilkins, www.theministryofinspiration.com ) would say there's no distinction. Without ignoring the necessity of making a living I'd agree. After all, life is 24/7.
On a practical level Thoreau's words question the morality of a specific kind of work. Taking his words metaphorically, what about when someone is building something up in free time that they destroy in working time? Nourished by something at leisure and doing something that is the antithesis of nourishment at work? Constructive and destructive by turns? Getting so stressed by work that one tries to make up for it out of work (by 'loafing'!!), though in this analogy doing work that's so destructive in some way that the restorative possibility of future leisure is curtailed??
here are some possible steps:
1. Make sure you use your leisure time in ways that really do nourish you as well as give you rest.
2. Take a good honest look at your working life and consider aspects of it that just aren't nourishing and are, really or potentially, destructive to you as a whole person.
3. Make appropriate changes.
More and more people are finding that working with a coach helps them to identify and make changes -towards the life you actually want. Do email or ring to explore further.....
In general, pyramids and buildings around the world. There are pyramids in France, China, Greece, India, and Rome. There is also the pyramids of Mesoamerica, which is a country that played an important role before the Spanish colonization, such as Mexico and Nicaragua, especially the Maya civilization.
Posted by: descriptive essay | June 28, 2011 at 22:05