Best Of

@person said:
I have the day off and decided to spend about 3 hours playing an old game. I feel like I've wasted a big part of my day that could have been much better spent. I could have learned something or spent the time getting my life more in order, taking care of the things that need taking care of. On top of that I feel worse off than when I started.

These days, seems to me:

bad = short-term comfort, long-term discomfort
good = short-term discomfort, long-term comfort

I have the day off and decided to spend about 3 hours playing an old game. I feel like I've wasted a big part of my day that could have been much better spent. I could have learned something or spent the time getting my life more in order, taking care of the things that need taking care of. On top of that I feel worse off than when I started.

I think that some part of everyone's day (if possible) should be playful. But not too much. What works for me is to sort of have a list of virtuous things to do and then do those first and then have some type of play in the evening. Could be play tug or fetch with my dog for 5 minutes, or could be explore a video game. Could be reading or cooking. I used to paint (badly).

@person said:
I have the day off and decided to spend about 3 hours playing an old game. I feel like I've wasted a big part of my day that could have been much better spent. I could have learned something or spent the time getting my life more in order, taking care of the things that need taking care of. On top of that I feel worse off than when I started.

I feel somewhat regretful about that. I certainly wouldn’t want to stop anyone from just simple play. In a way even something as ordinary as clowning around, waggling a pair of cushions over your head like ears while you pull a funny face is playing. It’s an instinct in humans that goes back as far as the laughter the clowning tries to bring forth, the cleanest expression of a baby’s joy you’ll hear, and not only from children but also from old men like my stepfather.

But then I no longer feel obliged to spend my days well. I don’t think I could even define what that means. For the last ten years I’ve held that there is nothing more important than the spiritual path, and I’ve spent that time studying every spiritual classic I could lay my hands on, everything from the modern, like Nisargadatta Maharaj’s I Am That, to the ancient, like the Bhagavad Gita and the Tao Te Ching. That means I have spent up to ten hours a day on my iPad, reading, foruming, listening.

In the end, I borrow a line from Osho and say I am against seriousness. I think one should smile at existence, be light of heart and mind. When you have truly let all your burdens go, and you are but a wandering beggar monk in your imagination for a while, a blissful peace comes to visit you before desire and worry finds you again. I wouldn’t let a game give me new cares, they are the figments of someone else’s imagination and not worth losing a grain of peace over.

Good questions from @how

Here is a video for leftovers