Definitions from the books Creative Live and A Space for God---from sessions of The Maker's Space
Definitions
Leisure is not
the inevitable result of spare time, a holiday, a weekend or a vacation. It is, in the first place, an attitude of
mind, a condition of the soul. Leisure
implies an attitude of nonactivity, of inward calm, of silence, it means not
being “busy,” but letting things happen.
Leisure is a form of silence, of that silence which is the prerequisite of
the apprehension of reality: only the
silent hear and those who do not remain silent do not hear. Silence is the soul’s power to answer to the
reality of the world undisturbed. For
leisure is a receptive attitude of mind, a contemplative attitude, and it is
not only the occasion but also the capacity for steeping oneself in the whole
of creation. Leisure is not the attitude
of mind of those who actively intervene, but of those who are open to
everything: not of those who grab and grab hold, but of those who leave the
reins loose and who are free and easy themselves—almost like someone falling
asleep, for one can only fall asleep by letting oneself go. When we really let our minds rest
contemplatively n a rose in bud, on a child at play, a divine mystery, we are
rested and quickened as though by a dreamless sleep…It is in these silent
receptive moments that the soul of man is sometimes visited by an awareness of
what holds the world together. –Piper,
{Leisure, The basis of Culture.}
Such an attitude pits us against compulsive busyness,
against drivenness. It leads toward
solitude and contemplation—toward creating an inner receptivity, a space where
we can hear our deepest longings, realize what life is about, penetrate into
reality. It can mean making a space for
God. It is prayer. –Don Postema, {Space for God}
The contemplative
life is the God-conscious life. It
is the life that knows its end and can rest in that knowledge. “Be still and know that I am God.” John Calvin said, “What is the chief end of
man? To know God and enjoy Him
forever. That is the eternal Sabbath
which begins here.”
“I define creativity
as the availability to a new thought that leads to an expression.” --Alice Bass,{The Creative Life}
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