The question: Why are you doing that?
The answer: Because it's fun!
Yes, this is a simplistic little Q&A, but it represents a distinct pattern I have noticed in our lives since we started unschooling. Fun is our driving force. We consider it a worthy goal, all by itself, and it leads us to such good things.
Society so often insists that we do things for weighty reasons, for unpleasant reasons, for "good" reasons. What we've found, though, is that living for fun does not mean ignoring responsibilities, or shirking duties, or abandoning productivity. It simply means we enjoy what we do.
TJ Shuflin, an unschooling friend and professional photographer, explained it nicely on Facebook today:
"... if you don't call it a job, it isn't work. If you call it a hobby, it is fun. So I call what I do my 'hobbiness' and I'm getting paid to have fun while not working!"
Traveling, sleeping
2 hours ago
3 comments:
I have always said things like "MY life is a vacation!" and "I feel like I am always on holidays" and it all comes down to the attitude mentioned in your post. So sad that some people just don't like to hear that, it's like they WANT others to struggle like they do....
In Italy when I had 5 kids 7 and under and the people would say "How do you do it? You must be exhausted! Poor you!" .....etc.....I got caught up in that for a while...and then one day I realized OTHER PEOPLE"S expectations of how I shouldn't be able to cope were dragging me down! I started answering "It's easy! No problem! Yep, up 10 times a night but it doesn't bother me!" They were floored, drop-jawed. But you know what, the more I said it the more it started to become true! :)
I challenge all the complainers out there to start treating your life like it IS a vacation, and to start saying that it's perfect how it is right now! You'll be amazed at what an attitude shift can bring!
i had a ben and jerry's sticker on my car back east that said "if it's not fun, why do it?" perfect philosophy to live by ;)
This is all a bunch of hippified "if it feels good, do it."
I can dig it.
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