Il Dolce Far Niente: John William Waterhouse and Bertrand Russell

 

John William Waterhouse - Dolce Far Niente (The White Feather Fan) 1879
Source

When I first made the move from teaching to working in a very small office two days a week, one of the hardest changes to make was to slow down my pace. I noticed this most during morning tea where we sit around the kitchen sipping coffee and chatting. Initially, I felt a strange pull to check my watch, get up and do something productive. I felt like I was being idle when I should have been working. 

It took me a while to realise that the things that we were chatting about were important and productive. The coffee we sipped on was a break, sure, but we were together, office matters were discussed and it was like a lovely, relaxed staff meeting. Coming from a school environment where I was on the go from the minute I stepped in the building to the end of the day, I wasn't used to this slower pace of work. Everyone respected the fact that work would get done in a timely manner, no-one berated us for lingering over that little white table and when it was time to begin, we were relaxed, refreshed and ready to go. For someone who had recently made the change from a language-based career to one based on accounting and figures, this break was just what I needed!

Forgiving ourselves for a little break in the day can be a hard thing to do, especially if we are used to working to a tight schedule or deadline. There, after all, only so many hours in a day. However, the painting that inspired this week's article, John William Waterhouse's Il Dolce Fa' Niente (The Sweetness of Doing Nothing), is one of my favourites and reminds that there is a sweetness in doing nothing at all for a little while. Whether you call them scheduled breaks, break times, pauses throughout your day or something else, taking the time to actually "do nothing" is a wonderful thing in our modern lives. This painting was recently re-brought to my attention after I read "In Praise of Idleness" by Bertrand Russell (1932).

Quotes from "In Praise of Idleness" by Bertrand Russell(1932)

"Leisure is essential to civilisation, and in former times leisure for the few was only rendered possible by the labours of the many. But their labours were valuable, not because work is good, but because leisure is good. And with modern technique it would be possible to distribute leisure justly without injury to civilisation."

Paradoxically, leisure time, or spending time idly, is only worthwhile when we actually have work to do. In this essay, Russell discusses the idea of moving to a four-day work week, so that there is more time for leisure. Alternatively, he offers the possibility of shift workers completing the same job but in two different shifts over the day. Imagine working from 8am til 1pm, and knowing that your job would be tended to until 8pm by your co-worker during their shift! And being paid the same pay! Russell's ideas are quite radical, but I believe there is something to be said for a society that recognises the need for leisure (and that doesn't necessarily mean binge-watching television for eight hours straight) and even prioritises it for its citizens.

This lovely quote from Russell seems to speak so well almost one hundred years after it was first written! How many of us suffer from "frayed nerves, weariness and dyspepsia?" You just have to look at the high rates of mental health and its impact on physical health to know that we are not using our time wisely. Please don't misunderstand me, I am all for efficiency, hard-work, and diligence but this must be balanced by an idle downtime that supports our nervous systems, stimulates our creativity and rejuvenates our souls

"A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men, of men unduly divorced from the slow processes of nature, of men in whom every vital impulse slowly withers, as though they were cut flowers in a vase." (The Conquest of Happiness, 1930)

I love the idea of "the slow processes of nature" being a guide for how to try and live our lives. If we are able to prioritise this, then we have more chance of blooming, and not withering. The notion of boredom is one that we try our best to ignore these days. There's always something to do to fill our leisure time! Television, the internet, social media, reading, games and so on. We don't need to be bored, so why should we look to cultivate a little boredom in our days? Because, Russell tells us, it is through boredom that vital impulses are born, new ideas are made, and creative juices flow. When we allow ourselves to be bored during a day of work, housework, family time and so on, we are actually allowing ourselves time to breath, to relax, to recalibrate and to find an internal equilibrium. My favourite time for scheduled "nothingness" is when I go to pick my kids up from school. I leave half an hour early and sit in the carpark and wait. Sometimes I listen to music or a podcast. Sometimes I sit in silence. If the weather is nice, I have the windows down and a cool breeze. I breathe deeply and allow my thoughts to wander. Sometimes I get an idea for a blog post, sometimes I am thinking over some issue that is bothering me. Other times I close my eyes and pray or meditate. The time is mine and I can do with what I will. I may not have a sumptuous rug to lay on or a glorious white feather fan, but in my mind I do!

How do you feel about "il dolce far niente?" Are you one for idle nothingness, or do you like to do something with your leisure time? If so, how do you feel after it? Refreshed? Creative? Inspired? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

If you like Waterhouse's painting then I suggest you have a look at this lovely article over at Byron's Muse blog. She shares many more "idle" paintings from the Pre-Raphaelite era and discusses the artistic components within in.

UPDATE 17/06/2024 - I read an interesting article today on the wonders of doing nothing and thought I would share the link with you here. It looks like Waterhouse, Russell and the others were really onto something!