The Virtue of Prudence and True Leisure

In our hectic, overloaded modern world, the virtue of prudence can help us in a surprising way. When we practice prudence, we get into the habit of asking “what is the greatest good” in every situation. This habit not only applies to our moral life and to our faith life, but to all dimensions of life – including leisure. What might change in your life if you started to ask what the best fruits of your leisure time might be?

Modern Leisure – Chasing Shadows

The modern concept of leisure is a creation of the industrial revolution, fed by the entertainment and tourism industries. It’s based on the concept of diversion and escape. A good “vacation” means having an experience that is distinct from your normal life. The goal is to escape the “daily grind” and to “forget” about your everyday life. In fact, modern leisure is based on escaping reality and losing yourself in a fantasy world – a novel, artificially created experience. So we seek “escape” by going on exotic vacations, by seeking unique experiences and thrills, and by indulging in various forms of media and entertainment.

Here are some unfortunate results of the diversion tactic toward leisure:

• There is a lot of pressure to use limited vacation time to create the best “experience” possible. This often leads to more stress and less relaxation.
• The emphasis on escape makes going back to “the grind” even more painful after the leisure time is over.
• The use of manufactured experiences can be fun, but it often leaves us feeling like we missed something.
• The biggest problem is that these experiences do very little to develop us as human beings!

Now, in and of themselves there is nothing really wrong with these diversions. But are they truly leisure? Is escapism the “best possible good” that we can derive from our leisure time? Or are we really wasting our time chasing shadows without any lasting benefit?

How the Virtue of Prudence Can Guide Our Leisure

Classically, the focus on prudence led to a much different view of leisure time. Being freed from labor or from responsibilities wasn’t seen as an opportunity to escape our everyday lives. The Latin root of “leisure” means “to be free to do something.” Leisure was not seen as being free from our everyday lives, but having the opportunity to develop ourselves as human beings. In contrast to diversion, entertainment, and escape, this view of leisure sought activities that would

• Develop us as human beings, leading to physical and spiritual growth and well-being.
• Empower and energize us to live our everyday life in more meaningful ways
• Actually energize us for our work and our daily lives.
• Increase our skill, motivation, and clarity of mind to do our jobs and live our lives a little better.
• Build relationships, leading to greater fulfillment and happiness
• Build our relationship with God, the source of all true human fulfillment and happiness

In fact, the Greek word for leisure is actually scholastes from which we get the English word “scholarship.”  Scholastes meant “one who lives at ease” but the connection with learning existed from the very beginning. While there is certainly a sense that only those with the means to live at ease could afford an education, a sense also grew out of these language roots that learning was part and parcel with leisure time.

True leisure doesn't mean escaping life, but enriching it by participating in transcendent goods. Share on X

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean “schooling.” Any form of self-development and learning could be considered leisure. That’s why participating in reading, art, drama, music, and sports were also considered leisure activities. The idea of having a hobby grew out of this understanding of leisure. Also, the word “amateur” has its roots in the Latin word for love and used to mean someone who did something for enjoyment and self-development rather than for profit. It may also surprise you to discover that true leisure is actually at the root of what we consider “culture.” Activities such as art and music that uplift the human capacity to appreciate truth and beauty are promoted and bolstered by society, creating our culture.

How to Participate in True Leisure

The next time you are looking forward to some time off of work – whether it’s just a day off, a weekend, or extended vacation time – exercise the virtue of prudence and think about how you can use your time in a way that is enriching and truly re-creational. First, consider what area of life you’d like to grow in. It might help to reflect on the three greatest transcendent goods (goods that transcend physical existence): truth, beauty, and goodness. But also think about how you might build relationships, how you might strengthen your faith life, or how you might serve the Kingdom of God. Next, brainstorm a list of activities that could help you grow in your chosen area. Finally, see what intrigues you or excites you. Then give it a try!

Here are some possible examples of true leisure (in no particular order):

• Taking the time to master a skill that would enrich your life at work or at home.
• Learning about a topic of deep interest to you.
• Spending carefree time with friends, family or other loved ones (investing in your relationships)
• Reading a good book – sometimes for entertainment but also sometimes for enrichment
• Exploring a form of art.
• Taking part in a neighborhood theater production.
• Participating in cultural events that uplift the good qualities of human life such as truth and beauty (not to be confused with pure entertainment, through sometimes entertainment can be part of it)
• Lifting our hearts to God in prayer and allowing Him to fill us with His inspiration and strength.

Again, there is nothing wrong with occasional diversion and entertainment. The point here is not that you should never go on another vacation. But diversion and entertainment should not be the only use of our free time. Modern entertainment and vacation can actually end up adding to overload. I’m sure you can recall a vacation experience that ended up being so stressful you had to go back to work to recover from your vacation, right? If we do it right, true leisure should actually increase our personal resources that build margin in our lives. True leisure is an exercise in the virtue of prudence because it helps us to keep our priorities in proper order. It encourages us to take time to connect to God and to our loved ones. It energizes us and prepares us to carry out our Christian mission in the world. 

The connection between prudence and leisure is an example of how these virtues affect every aspect of our lives. From the Abbey can help you to grow in the key virtues that strengthen your relationship with God, but that also impact how you receive the truth, beauty, and goodness that God placed into our earthly lives in order to express Himself to us and draw us to Him. If you’d like help developing prudence and the other key virtues, check out the special opportunity below to get more involved with From the Abbey’s programming.

Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.