“Without it, one eventually discovers the final turn of the screw: one runs away to find oneself, and finds no one at home.”
— Joan Didion.
Hopeful and optimistic are two words we’d associate with earlier this year. There is a hope to see our family, catch-up with friends, and visit places we have planned to. But lately, we – once again – have been asked to be more careful and to stay in our home. It would be cliche if we were to say that this is our time to find ourselves again – or even, to heal. The word healing has been ironically commodified into tourism and traveling these days.
How do we heal when we are asked to look outside all the time? How do we find time to just simply be?
We used to define leisure as something we enjoy doing when we’re not working. It could be something we do on weekends, holidays, or sometimes little things we do on weeknights – like giving yourself your favorite food after a long day of work. There’s no better joy than to find ourselves relaxed at the tip of the night, before snoozing the alarm off again. But after many people started to work from home, the lines between personal and professional world seem thinner than ever.
Home used to be the place we long for; the comfort of bed after a long day of rushing to meetings after meetings, the kitchen where we unpack food delivered by a courier; all the familiarity that keeps us grounded. Today, home is where we try so hard to draw the fine line between house, commute, and work. Our commute that was once a mundane long ride is now compressed into a walk through the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and that corner at home you call the office. Different places, same routine.
So how do we find leisure again?
How do we find a destination without looking outward?
Leisure is not just a pastime, it’s a mindset. If we take a deeper look, we usually try to find leisure through traveling, catching up with friends in a coffee shop, enjoying familiar new things; just to find ourselves again. But we are, always, free to wander (pun intended). While we cannot find ourselves wandering physically, we can always wander through movies, books, and conversations with our family and friends. We could also pick up some old hobbies, enjoying the things we used to appreciate when we were younger. Sometimes cuddling with your pets or loved ones could also do wonders. Small leisures like these teach us that there’s more to life than looking at the greener grass out there – as there are times where the destination has always been here.
While the future is still uncertain and travel destinations are slowly reclosing their borders, approaching the world through small leisure at home can be a nice escapade that opens your mind, too. We’re sure that sooner or later, we’ll find ourselves packing our bags again. In the meantime, we’ll try to be patient here at home and continue to embrace the small leisures of life.
Our Leisurewear collection is here to give you the comfiest leisure time from anywhere you want to be, wherever you are.
Happy Holidays,
Pithecanthropus
